Light in the Night
by Jackimax
Summary: He never thought this could happen. It was something you thought was magic or just a nice what if. But here he is, covered with fur, and a tail to match. How's he gonna get out of this, especially when he meets the whole cast?
1. This Can't be Happening

**I do not own Lion King or its characters. I only own my OC. (This is my first story, so I hope you like it).**

 _Owww. What happened?_

The first thing I remember is I was watching some Lion King funny videos on my computer, then I…. wait, where am I?

I look around and all I see is healthy green grass with occasional rocks and animals. I could smell the grass, animals, and... the wind? I have a good sense of smell, but this was way stronger than usual.

I attempt to walk forward, but I end up flat on my face ( _great, another happy landing_ ). I try to pick myself up, but all I can do is get in this weird crouching position.

I look at my hands… but i find _**paws**_!? I look behind me and I see nothing but _**fur**_ ending with a _**tail**_ at the end of it. I stumble/run to where I saw a nearby pond and I look in at my reflection.

I can't believe it. When I expected my usual face I see something that makes me skip a beat.  
I'M A LION?!

 **Oh man, this guy's in for a treat. The story just gets better from here on, so I hope you enjoy the chapters to come.**


	2. The New Me

I stare at my reflection, peering at me with the same shock I'm experiencing.

On the inside, one part of me is amazed and happy that I could live out something I thought since I was a kid, but the other part is freaking out about my real life. I had an end of semester test tomorrow, and now I can't study for it.

Wait, does time work the same way here or is it not really existent? I guess not, considering they never really said what year the Lion King universe is set in.

Why am I thinking about this? It's time to meet the new me… (goody).

I take a deep breath, and take a closer look at myself.

The first thing I notice is that I'm a cub, and I have silver fur with a slight tuft of hair going to the side on the top of my head. My eyes are a nice blue, with a slight outline of black around them.

My nose is a dark pink, almost violet, and my underbelly is a creamy yellow.

I turn my head to see my tail, and the tip is the same yellow.

I'm still peering at myself when I notice another reflection entering the pond.

I'm filled with surprise and slight horror, for when I look up I see a huge lion with a bulky frame, dark red eyes, and a dark red mane glaring at me.

"Who are you?"

 **I think you all know who that is. I felt like doing another chapter today, so… hooray. I think I sounded a bit forceful last chapter with the name thing (sorry). I meant if you wanted to suggest something because whatever regular and African names I like are going to be my OC's in the story. You know, one for public, one for friends, ya-you get it. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	3. A New Name, A New Home

I just stood there dumbstruck, mouth gaping, staring at a lion who looked like ripping me apart.

"I ask again, who are you?" said Mufasa.

With that question, I had to think of some kind of name that'd sound at least African. Luckily, I had taught myself Swahili in case I ever went to Africa (probably never).

"My name is-is Athari" I answered.

Mufasa still looked stern and asked "Alright, now tell me, what are you doing in my lands?"

I actually didn't know that myself, seeing as the first thing that happened to me was waking up with a major headache. I decided to go with something practical.

"I got lost an-and now I don't where my pride is. I don't really know where I am really."

I wasn't technically lying to him. I am lost, and I don't know what my family's doing. I know I'm in the Pridelands, but I don't know where exactly. At that response, Mufasa's features relaxed a bit and he lowered his head to be eye-to-eye with me, and asked me with a gentler tone...

"Okay Athari, do you know where your pride was last you were with them?"

Well, at my house, but lions don't have houses, and I can't tell him that I live in America, seeing as he won't know where that is. I don't even know how long I've been unconscious. Guess I'll go with another practical answer.

"It's been a few days, and they probably moved on by now. I'm all alone." I responded.

I'm not sure, but for a second, I thought I saw a genuine sadness in Mufasa's eyes. He raised his head and looked around. After a minute, he looked back at me, and smiled.

"Well, after a few days alone, you must be hungry. Perhaps you'd like to come back with me to my pride?" he asked.

Now, I know it's the Lion King, and I'm going to Pride Rock, but I honestly almost screamed with glee. PRIDE ROCK!? It's the most glorious place in Lion King! Before I responded I had to calm myself.

"I guess, but isn't that food for you and the lionesses?" I asked.

At that, he laughed with a deep baritone sound. He looked at me again, and he started to walk away, I had to run a bit to catch up, but eventually we walked side by side (Mufasa's a lot bigger than they make him look).

"Nonsense, there's enough for one more mouth to feed. I'm sure the huntresses won't mind." he said.

Well, I guess this is it. I could already see Pride Rock in the distance. Pride Rock, here I come.

 **He's on his way. Now I probably picked the name too early, but I did say in my profile that'd I'd upload at least every day or two. Also, I'd like to thank** _ **All Hail King Scar**_ **for the name. Go check out his/her story** _ **One Last Try**_ **, it's pretty good.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	4. Hellooo Bird-Brain

On our way to Pride Rock, I couldn't stop sneaking looks at Mufasa. In the movies, he seems so regal and empowered, and that's still true, but he seems like he's tired, from what I don't know.

After a few more glances, he finally saw me and I quickly looked away, but it was too late.

"Athari, may I ask as to why you keep glancing at me?" he inquired.

Crap! he noticed. What do I say? What do I do? Wait, he's the king of the Pridelands, why wouldn't I be looking at him?

"Oh it's just, you're the king of Pride Rock, and I wanted to get a look at you." I responded.

At that, he seemed to accept my answer, and looked back to our journey. I went back to my own thoughts. Okay, what do I do when we get there? Do I act the lost cub, or do I go for a more braggish attitude. Oh! I'll say I was the prince of my pride, but how do I get them to believe that?

While I thought this, Mufasa stopped, and he had to stop me with his paw before I walked away from him.

"Athari, I would like to welcome you to my home and my pride." he said.

I couldn't help it, but as soon as I saw just the sheer size of Pride Rock, I gasped. It must be at least 100 feet tall! I also saw some other caves, and landings that must have belonged to the pride. However, that wasn't the only thing I saw.

As soon as I gasped, I saw a very familiar blue hornbill fly to the ground in front of Mufasa.

"Hello Sire, it's good to see you return, how was the border patrol? Any new pieces of interest to know about?" gleefully asked Zazu.

"Zazu my friend, thank you for asking, it was a nice patrol, but what should interest you is staring at you right now." he amusedly responded.

He was right, I was staring at Zazu, only because his beak was much bigger than I thought it would be. Does he ever get tired holding his head up?

Zazu looked around, and when he spotted me, I swear his eyes bulged about an inch from his head.

"Sire, who is this? A stray perhaps?" he quietly asked.

Stray? What did he think, I followed Mufasa home? Before I knew it, I had opened my mouth for a retort. Mufasa saw it too, and he intervened before I could speak.

"No Zazu, he is no stray, his name is Athari, and he became lost from his pride a few days ago. I offered him some food and rest here." he responded.

Zazu took a moment to digest this, and he quickly looked at me, then back to Mufasa.

"Alright Sire, I shall go to inform the lionesses we have a guest." after which he flew away up to Pride Rock.

Mufasa then looked to me with an apologetic mien.

"I am sorry for the behavior of my majordomo, it wasn't right of him to judge you that way." he said.

I took a breath and I looked back at him.

"No, he has a right to be cautious, after all, I'm a stranger here." I said back.

His eyes shined with a look of subtle respect and awe.

"For one so young, you have the wisdom of one older. Now, are you ready to meet the others?" he inquired.

I took another look at Pride Rock, where I could already see some lionesses spotting us.

"Yeah, I'm ready" I answered energetically.

Then, I took my first step onto Pride Rock.

 **Whoo! Pride Rock. Zazu, ever the obnoxious bird he is. Just a thought, but who do you think I should have Athari meet first? Simba? Sarafina? Or even Scar? Give me your thoughts and I will make it happen.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	5. I'm Handsome?

As we walked up to Pride Rock, I noticed that some lionesses were staring at me. It was a bit weird, they were looking at me like I was more interesting than a fresh kill. I tilted my head to Mufasa.

"Uh, why are the lionesses staring at me?" I quietly asked.

He looked at the others and smiled down at me.

"It may be because of the fact that your kind are rare, or it could be your handsome silver fur." he answered.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Still it was a bit creepy. We continued walking until I thought I saw a familiar tree with two lionesses and a small cub.

"Mufasa, who are those guys?" I tilted my head their way.

I already know who they are, but I gotta pretend I don't. Man this is hard without saying something like, "Oh hey Mufasa, Scar kills you in a stampede, bye!". Mufasa looked where my head pointed and looked to me.

"Ah, that is my mate Sarabi, and her friend Sarafina with her daughter Nala. I believe she is being bathed." with a hint of warning.

I don't know if watching other cubs being bathed was weird, but soon enough I saw the future king of the Pridelands bound down to whisper in Nala's ear. Mufasa smiled then, with a look of fatherly love.

"That is my son, Simba, the prince and future king. Perhaps you'd like to meet him?" he inquired.

Again, I can't help but almost scream with glee! Simba, the hero of the story (well, main hero). I calmed myself, and took a breath.

"Of course, fellow princes should meet each other." I responded, silently hoping he believed me.

Mufasa raised an eyebrow, but we started walking over to where they were.

"You were the prince of your pride? Wouldn't you be an ex-prince now that you've been separated?" he asked.

"Well, I'm still royalty, if I ever manage to find my pride." I responded quickly.

He nodded, seeing the logic behind my statement. We got to them just before Simba and Nala bounded off. Sarabi was the first to spot us.

"Mufasa, who is this? A lost cub?" she asked.

Mufasa nodded, "Yes, this is Athari, the prince of a pride, but unfortunately they've been separated and I offered him to rest and eat here, to recover strength." he responded.

Sarabi looked at me with a sorrowful face, "Athari, I'm sorry for your loss, but you also have my offer to rest here." she ended with a smile.

Sarafina then turned her head to look at me, "You have my remorse also, and if you'd like, you may share in our dinner tonight." also smiling.

I felt a heat flush my cheeks, I'm not used to being spoken to this way.

"Of course, if you'll have me, but I suppose I should ask about the young prince over there?" I said turning to Simba and Nala, who were looking at me, whispering.

"Ah, as Mufasa probably already told you, that is our son Simba, with Sarafina's daughter, Nala. I don't assume you'd like to go with them?" Sarabi inquired.

I already know where, but, "Where are they headed?" I asked.

She smiled, "To some "really cool place" Simba mentioned. It's around the waterhole." she responded.

I nodded, knowing where they're actually going, "I see, a nice stroll and maybe a drink is good for the body. I wouldn't mind, with your leave, Mufasa?" I looked to him.

He laughed, "Of course, while you're here, you may travel around our lands, but I want you to stay near Pride Rock, as far as the waterhole. Now you'd better meet them, before they go without you." he said.

With that, I went over to Simba, and Nala, who looked to me.

"Hello, Simba, Nala, I hear you're going to the _waterhole_ , I hope you don't mind me joining you?" I asked them, putting emphasis on waterhole.

They shook their heads, looking at each other, with Simba speaking first.

"No, we don't mind, but why are you all…" using his paw to notice my fur.

"Oh, it's just that I'm a rare type of lion, you've never heard of my kind?" I asked.

He shook his head again, "No, my dad never told me about you." he said, looking at Mufasa, talking to Sarabi.

Nala stepped forward, peering at me, "I think he's kinda handsome." she said.

Once again, I felt heat flush my cheeks, I've never really heard a girl say that to me, except my mom of course.

Simba glared at me a little, "I don't get why, it's just white fur. Now are we going or not?" he said.

Nala rolled her eyes, "Okay, Okay, let's go. Coming?" she turned her head to me.

I blinked, shaking my head a little, "Yeah, let's go. Where's Zazu?" I asked.

As soon as I said that, the bird himself, hopped to the ground in front of us.

"Come now, children, let us go to the waterhole." he said before noticing me.

"Oh, hello young sir, will you be accompanying us?" he asked.

Simba answered for me, "Yeah, he's coming, let's go." already walking off.

Zazu took to the air, and with that, we made our way to a certain musical coming up.

 **Okay, now seeing as there was a tie between Sarafina and Simba, I decided "Why not both?". We'll get to Scar later, but that'll be next chapter. I'm glad you're all enjoying the story, it gives me confidence. I forgot to put this up sooner, but if you have any questions or suggestions, just pm me and I'll mull it over and answer.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	6. Man, I Hate Danger

"... _to be kiiiinnnnng_!".

Now that, was something I'm not sure I'd like to do again. There was colors everywhere, I needed to find an ostrich to catch up with Simba and Nala, and animals falling all around me. Finally though, I spotted Simba and Nala running off and I stealthily hide behind a big rock and watch them.

"Alright!" Simba laughs, "it worked."

"We lost him." says Nala, talking about Zazu, or maybe me.

"I am a genius." Simba praising himself.

"Hey genius, it was my idea." says Nala, reprimanding Simba.

"Yeah, but I pulled it off." Simba retorts, defending himself.

"With me!" Nala responds.

"Oh, yeah?" inquires Simba, mischievously.

Then they proceed to trying to pin each other, Nala coming out on top.

"Pinned ya." she gleefully says.

"Hey, let me up." Simba responds, sounding angry, but I see his face forming into a little smile, before jumping Nala and falling down the cliff into the Elephant Graveyard, laughing all the way down. I run over to the edge, to see if they're okay, when I hear a flap of wings behind me.

"Now they've done it, and you!" he comes down and points at me with his wing, "you let them do it. For a guest of King Mufasa, you're not very appreciative. Now, where are those dratted children?" he says looking around.

I remember that Zazu is supposed to stop them at the big elephant skull, so I decide to point him in the right direction.

"I think I saw them heading to that skull right there, you see where I'm pointing?" I ask.

He lines up with my paw, and sure enough, they were looking over its tusks into the rest of the graveyard.

Zazu gasps, "Not the graveyard. Hurry, young sir, get back to Mufasa, and tell him where we are. I just hope he's not too late." and with that, I see him make it to them right before they enter the skull, just like in the movie. With that, I hurry back to Pride Rock, it wasn't long before I was bounding up the steps, right into Mufasa.

"Whoa, Athari, slow down, what's the rush?" he inquires.

I'm breathing fast, but I know I have to tell him **now** , or Simba and Nala won't make it.

"Simba and Nala… in the Elephant Graveyard… with Zazu... hyenas!" I exclaim at the last word.

"WHAT!?" he roars, before taking off, with me behind, but before long, he's way ahead of me. I'm nearly there when I hear Mufasa roar, and I make it in time to see, him with Zazu and the cubs, walking back, but not before I see a very familiar dark lion slinking away.

"He's not getting away that easily." I say, before I run the way he took off.

I had just got to the cliff when I heard a growl, "You imbeciles, how hard is it to to kill two cubs and a bird, when their in your own home?" probably Scar.

" Hey, hey, hey! We never thought that the king himself would show up. Somebody must've told him." I hear Banzai retort.

"Well, it can't have been that obnoxious bird, it would've taken too long… someone knew our plan." I hear Scar growl. "Wait, what was that?".

I had just taken a misstep and kicked over a rock, when I start to hear a slow footfall come my way. I have to think fast, where's a good place to hide? I look around when I spot a skull on top of some rocks and I hurriedly, but stealthily, crawl underneath it. I wait, trying to control my breathing, when a pair of paws with their claws out, land in front of me.

"Come out, interloper, I can smell you. You don't smell like my dratted nephew, or that little friend of his. If you reveal yourself now, I will let you leave intact." I hear Scar say. Now I know that's a lie, he'd kill me as soon as he saw me.

I wait, patiently, with every moment my heart hammering against my chest. Finally I hear Scar growl, "Must be their scents mixing, now where was I? Oh yes, taking care of those hyenas." I hear him leap back up the cliff. After a while, I crawl out from under the skull, and I softly walk out of the graveyard.

When I make it out, on my way to Pride Rock, I see Mufasa and Simba lying on the grass, with them both looking at the night sky. I don't want to interrupt the moment, but when I start to back up my foot breaks a twig, and they both turn towards me, both relaxing when they saw it was me.

"Athari, I was just telling Simba about the Great Kings of the Past, perhaps you'd like to join us?" Mufasa inquires.

"Sure." I respond, walking over.

Simba doesn't look at me, but I can tell he wants to ask me something.

"Simba, is there something wrong?" I ask, laying down next to them.

He looks over, "It's nothing, just…. Were you there, at-at the graveyard?" he asks timidly.

"I didn't go in myself, but I knew you were in there. I went back to Pride Rock to tell your father that you and Nala were in danger." I respond.

His eyebrows raise, and he looks sharply at me, "You… you told my dad we were there?" he asks.

I smile, "Of course, I wouldn't let you die in there. You're made for greater things." I say, not really knowing why I said that, but the look on his face told me it was right, not mentioning Mufasa's grateful smile, and with that, we stayed there, gazing at the stars.

 **Aw, a touching moment, but I plan to have Scar become a bigger thing than this. Not saying anything without ruining the story, but let's just say a certain king's reign is going to be replaced. I wanted to put this up before lunch, so you could enjoy it while eating, maybe, idk, but anyways I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you enjoy these longer chapters, I think I'm getting better and better.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	7. Welcome to the Pride

After a while of stargazing, we finally decided to head to Pride Rock for dinner. However, I noticed Simba kept staring at me, I don't know why, but probably because I saved both his and Nala's lives, technically. When we got to Pride Rock, the lionesses were already gathering around two zebra carcasses. As we made it to them, Nala ran over to us, stopping in front of Simba.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asks.

Simba smiles, "Yeah, I'm okay, but you'll never believe it. Athari..." before he could finish, Mufasa had coughed, getting our attention, "Now everyone, gather around, and let us give thanks to our fine huntresses for this meal we are about to eat, but before we do that, I have an announcement." pausing so everyone quieted down and focused on him.

"Today, as you might have heard, my son Simba, with his friend Nala, and my advisor Zazu, were put in grave danger when they ventured into the Elephant Graveyard." pausing again, with everyone looking at the two cubs, looking ashamed, "and they would have never come out, had it not been for the bravery of Athari, who came to inform me of their whereabouts." with everyone, even Nala, looking at me with surprise practically painted on their face.

"He showed level-headedness in a task of great importance, and he is not even a grown adult. He saved those three, and it is now that I ask we all prepare for a ceremony."

I didn't understand what ceremony they were talking about, but the lionesses lined up with Mufasa, and when I looked around, I was the only one within 10 feet. When I looked back, they were all facing me.

"Athari, under the gaze of the Great Spirits, we ask of you now, will you accept the offer we give you, and with no doubt, will you become one of our Pride?" Mufasa spoke, with a loud and clear voice.

Time stood still, my heart missing a beat, and nothing sounded at all. I had never expected this to happen, I figured they'd let me stay the night and then let me go where I wanted, but this… this was too good to be true. When I regained my senses, I realized I had been silent for a few seconds, and all of their eyes were boring into me. I took a deep breath, and I took a step forward.

"Yes, I accept, and by the Great Spirits," I'm not religious myself, but what else can I say?, "should I ever put any of the pride in danger, then may I be cast out and roam forever in the wild."

With that, Mufasa spoke up, "We hear you, and we accept your pledge, Athari, welcome to the pride." Then all the lionesses walked up to me, brushing my side, and I shouldn't be enjoying this, but I did, and when they finished, I'm pretty sure my white fur was assaulted by a bright red.

They all laughed when they saw my face, and to my surprise, Nala walked up to me, "Athari… thank you, for saving us." and then she nuzzled me, a bit longer than the others, but when she stopped, she also had a slight blush. I looked towards Simba to see if he noticed, but luckily he was being talked to by his parents. I inwardly sighed, relieved, I can't mess up their future relationship, or I can say goodbye to the future, future queen.

We then proceeded to circle the two zebras, and luckily I knew that typically the royal couple ate first, then the lionesses, then the cubs went last. When Mufasa and Sarabi finished, I was surprised when the lionesses instead looked to me. I don't know why, but I felt honored that they put my own status above theirs.

After I ate, the order went back to normal, and when we finished, we headed to the main den, but before we made it there, I looked back and saw a lone lion going to the rest of the zebras, and I felt sorry for Scar then, not even welcome to partake in a simple dinner. I hung back a little, and I think Scar noticed, because he stopped mid-bite and turned his head towards me. We stared at each other for a moment, when he scowled and took his portion back to his little overlook.

I watched him leave, when I felt a slight tug on my ear. When I looked back, Sarafina was standing there, with a smile, "I never properly thanked you, but thank you, Athari, for saving my daughter." nuzzling me a little.

I couldn't stop blushing tonight, and when we made it to the entrance, I stood there, not entirely sure if I could enter. Mufasa saw my hesitation, and he smiled, using his paw to beckon me in. With a happy heart, I walked in, settling down a little bit away from everyone, I'm not sure if I'm ready to be touchy-touchy with all the females in the room, but quickly, I fell asleep, not knowing I'd be assaulted by dreams.

 **Now, I know this chapter was shorter than the previous ones, and I meant to upload it way earlier (about 2 hours earlier), but I got stuck helping cook dinner for my family. I also didn't mean for it to be so serious. God I hate making potatoes, anyways, I wanted to do this little in-between chapter, but I promise the next one will be the one you've been waiting for, the one I hinted at last chapter. Let the new King be crowned!**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	8. Long Live the King

_I was standing on the edge of a gorge, and when I looked down, I saw a giant dust cloud covering the entire bottom of the valley. I didn't realize it at first, but when I saw the black forms running beneath the dust, I remembered the scene in the first movie, when… Oh jeez, Simba!_

 _I run down the slopes, but I reach a height low enough to see instead of a frantic and unharmed Simba, I see a mangled and bloody version instead, lying on the branches of the dead tree, his chest rising slower every moment. Instead of running, I jump down the slopes even, but then I hear the sound that I had dreaded was coming…._

" _AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!"_

 _I lowered my ears and closed my eyes, knowing that was the final sound Mufasa ever made. I open them, and I'm suddenly hanging from the same ledge Mufasa had fallen from, and when I look up, Scar is looking at me, with a huge smile full of sharp teeth._

" _Now, you've only yourself to blame, young child. If you hadn't tried to interfere, you wouldn't be in this predicament. Now then…" and with that, Scar scratches my paws, and with nothing but a small gasp, I fall into the herd of wildebeests…_

"NO!" I jump up, looking everywhere frantically, but I start to breathe normally again when I see I'm still in the main den of Pride Rock, and Mufasa and Simba are okay. However, it's still night, and when I try to go back to sleep, I hear a quiet footfall coming my way. I open my eyes, and I see Nala standing in front of me with a worried expression.

"Athari, are you okay? You screamed, and I thought…" she trailed off, obviously shy.

I get up, and I give her a soothing smile, "It's okay, nothing's wrong, I just… had a bad dream." I finish, not wanting to tell her about it.

She looks at me, with an even more worried expression, "Really, what was it about? My mom always says, if you have a bad dream, it's better to talk about it." she asks, a bit curiously.

I shake my head, "Not for me, and I don't want to worry you about it. Go back to sleep, and if you want, we can go for a walk tomorrow, with Simba of course." I can't tell her about my dream, or she'll probably tell someone, and Scar might find out.

Her face lights up, "Okay, and maybe we can take you somewhere cool" and with that, she goes back to where she slept, and lies down.

Somewhere cool, huh? I guess that can work, but I'm gonna have to ask Mufasa about that, and…. before I know it, I'm back to sleep.

 **LATER**

When I wake up, I see that everyone has already left, and I stretch, but it's still weird being a cat, I can't do the things I did before. When I walk out, I see Mufasa talking to Zazu, and I had already taken some steps towards them, when I remember my promise to Nala. I sigh, I remembering what I had to ask Mufasa. I'm still walking towards them, when Mufasa notices me.

"Athari, I believe you have somewhere to be?" he inquires.

I frown, not really knowing what he means, "What do you mean?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "I believe you were going for a walk with Nala and Simba, and they already asked me, yes, you may go wherever you wish now, but stay within the borders of the Pridelands. I don't want another mess like yesterday."

I nod, and I head down to the entrance of Pride Rock, where Nala and Simba are waiting for me.

"Hey guys, so Nala, where is this other cool place you told me about?" I ask, peering at Nala.

She smiles, and trying to be stealthy, she shares a mischievous look with Simba. I don't know if I should be worried, or relieved, relieved because she still has the same bond with Simba.

She looks back to me, "Oh, it's this nice place where we like to hang, you'll like it." again sharing a look with Simba.

"Yeah, and it's not far, it's right over there." Simba cuts in, pointing to a distant object, that looks like a tree.

"Okay, then let's go." I respond, and then we started walking in the general direction of the tree. I stay back a bit, just watching Simba and Nala talk, but when we're away from Pride Rock, I notice Nala and Simba aren't around me. I look around, but I can't find them. I start to panic, when I hear a distinct fail of a roar.

"RRAAWWWRRRR!"

Before I know it, I'm on my back, with two faces looking down at me, giggling.

"Yeah, we got you good!" yells Simba, getting off and looking very smug. Nala gets off too, and with a playful smile, "Athari, I can't believe you didn't notice us ditch you." she says, with a small chuckle.

I roll my eyes, "Okay, you got me, but do you have to do it to me?" I ask, a bit grumpily.

Simba giggles, "Well, we can't do it to anyone else, they're too big." he explains.

Nala looks to me, "Yeah, and Zazu can dodge us, when he's not rambling." she says, laughing.

Just looking at their faces, I can't help but smile, but then I see a figure running at us. My instincts kick in, "Nala, Simba, get behind me." I run in front of them, but when I see it's Scar, I'm not sure whether to relax, or to growl.

Simba runs up to Scar, "Hey uncle Scar, what's up?" he asks cheerfully.

I notice Scar grimace, but he quickly smiles to cover it up. "Simba, come with me, I want to show you something." and then he starts to walk away, with Simba looking back at us," Well, I guess I'll see you guys later." He runs to catch up, but soon he's already a dark blob next to a bigger one.

I look at Nala, "I guess that means we're going back to Pride Rock." I'm already walking back, when I feel something knock me onto the ground. I look up behind me, and I see Nala laughing, falling onto the ground. "I got you again, man you're not good at this." I get up, and I roll my eyes.

"I suppose you think you're very clever, now don't you?" I ask, a bit angry.

She gets up, and before I know it, I'm rolling on the ground, and I'm almost touching noses with Nala. "Okay, this is just sad, didn't you ever play Pin with your friends?" she asks, getting off. I get up, wiping some dust off my chest, thinking of a response. "No, there weren't other cubs in my pri- I mean, my other pride. I mainly just learned how to be a king." I know I have to have to act what I told Mufasa I was, but Nala still looks surprised. 'You… you used to be a prince?" she then looks at me, and I don't know why, but I get a bit uncomfortable with the way she did it.

"Well, yeah, but it doesn't really matter any more, I'm not part of that pride…" I trail off, remembering my family, with my mom, my dad, and… my little baby sister. I can't stop it, but suddenly I feel a drop of water roll down my face, and I feel a furry body wrap around mine, and I see Nala look at me, with nothing but sorrow. "It must be hard, not being with your family. But it's okay now, you have us." I don't know why, but I return the hug, and when I remember the position I'm in, I back up quickly. "Well, I guess we-we should a…be going to Pride Rock now…yeah."

With that, I start walking back to Pride Rock, and I feel Nala brush by me, with a small smile on her face. "Yeah, maybe we should." She starts to run, but when I run after her, I'm surprised to find that I can match her, even sprint right by her, and before I know it I'm racing Nala all the way back, when I see Mufasa sitting on a rock with Zazu, looking at something. I stop to stare at them, when I see Scar run up to them, and he says something I don't catch, and then they're all running back the way Scar came. I then realize something, didn't Scar do that right after… oh no. I'm tempted to go after them, but then I realize that if I interfere, I might end up getting Simba killed.

So, with a heavy heart, I race back after Nala, and when we get to Pride Rock, she's dancing with a big smile on her face. 'Whoo, I beat you, and there's nothing you can do about it." She continues dancing, and I think to myself, it's worth a shot. While she's not looking, I get into a pouncing position, and she turns around only to see me flying at her. We roll a few feet, and then we stop, with me breathing hard, and with her beneath me, looking very surprised. "Oh yeah, well I think this settles it." I breathe a couple more times, before I see her blushing a bit, and then I realize that we've been like this for a few moments more than the norm, and I hurriedly get off, also blushing.

I notice the sun has risen pretty low, so the stampede must be over. I can't help it, but my ears lower, knowing I couldn't have done anything to save Mufasa. When I look up, I see a lone figure coming back to Pride Rock, and it's none other than Scar, walking with a very regal look. He leaps on top of a rock, and when he roars, all the lionesses have gathered around.

"Everyone, it breaks my heart to tell you this, but the king and prince have died." I can tell he's lying, with the happy gleam in his eyes, but the other lionesses have bowed their heads, suffering grief.

"Mufasa's death, is a terrible tragedy, but to lose Simba, who had barely begun to live." He fakes a sniffle, "For me, it is a deep, personal loss. So it is with a heavy heart, that I assume the throne. Yet, out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall rise, to greet the dawning of a new era, in which lion and hyena come together, "he then leaps to the top of Pride Rock, "in a great and glorious future." The laughing of dozens of hyenas fill the air, and I can't help but wonder, if this is something I should have prevented.

 **Hey everybody, sorry for the wait, but I went to my brother's house right after I uploaded last chapter, and I didn't get the chance to work on this one yesterday, and I got home a bit after 2 today, but to make up for it, it's extra long, and I hope you accept my apology. What holds in store for our hero's future, and what do you think I should have happen? Will he live out the reign of King Scar and defeat him with Simba, or will he rise, to become the prince he shouldn't be (as in, becoming Scar's adopted son)? I honestly want your opinions, seeing how many of you like this story, and like me.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	9. The New Prince

I didn't know what to think, with all these hyenas around, it's way more intimidating than in the movie. Scar was sitting on Pride Rock, with a devilish smile, until he looked down at us. His eyes scanned us all, until they landed on me.

"You, boy, come up here." without another word, he went into the main den. I looked back at the lionesses, and Sarabi gave me an encouraging nod, "Athari, you'd best see what the new king wants with you." I can tell she isn't happy with all the hyenas, but I still walk up to the den, not without many hungry glances. As I reach the den, Scar's back is turned to me, and it gets uncomfortable as he's like that for a few minutes.

"So," he finally says something, surprising me, "you're the newest addition to our family, eh?". He turns to me, and his eyes are cold, calculating. He starts to circle me, and I can feel the drops of sweat fall down through my fur.

"Tell me, do you have any special skills, characteristics, anything that might make you worthy?". He finally stops in front of me, and he lowers his face right across mine. "What makes you so special?" he asks, before his eyes snap, and suddenly I'm on the floor, with my cheek hurting.

"Answer me, whelp, what made you so special, that Mufasa had the gall to let you in? Are you a trained killer, a wise advisor, or just another joke to amuse us all?". He finishes, with a sneer. I get up, expecting Scar to try to lure me in, and look him in the eye, "I guess I'm like you, not much of a fighter, but I'm smart, I look for every angle before I act, and I…I prefer not to make a sound." I'm still staring at Scar, when he leans in again, but when his eyes snap, instead of a blow, I feel a light pat on my head.

"Good, you have the right properties, you don't fear going for the kill when they're not looking, you don't care for that pretentious honor code, and best of all…." he smiles, not kindly, and he become almost nose to nose with me, "you scorn those who do." I don't really know where he got this, but he then leans back, and motions me to follow him.

"You've solved a future problem for me, young cub… no, that won't work, what's your name?" he looks back at me. I speed up a bit, "Athari, you- your Highness." He smiles at that, and when we reach the edge of Pride Rock, he roars, gathering the attention of the animals below.

"My subjects, I have called you…" he pauses, smiling at me with bared fangs, "to announce my new heir." I'm stunned, this-this can't happen, what about Nuka? He's supposed to be born later, and what about Kovu? and Vitani? I'm still thinking, when I hear a sound I never thought I'd hear. I heard cheering, more like howling, coming from every hyena down there. I look at the lionesses, and they're staring at me, but I can't tell their emotion.

"As my heir, you will all obey Athari, and if I find out you don't...well, you'll find out. Now, come Athari, you're training must begin." With that, he led me to the one place I didn't want to go to… the Elephant Graveyard. We went to a little clearing amongst all the bones, and when I looked around, Scar was on top of a nearby cliff. "Now, Athari, every day, for the rest of your princehood, you will come here in the morning and will train until dusk, but if you finish your training early, you may come back to Pride Rock. Now then…" I didn't notice at first, but a whole pack of hyenas had gathered around me, except for one exit. I looked at Scar, and his face was contorted into that of insanity, and pleasure." ...run." With that, all the hyenas started to chase me, and if I hadn't reached that exit in time, I was going to become bones.

 **1 MONTH LATER**

I hated to admit it, but Scar's training was... effective. I had noticed that my legs were a bit more muscular, and I can run a bit faster now without tiring. I also noticed that a small, creamy yellow tuft of fur had begun to grow at the top of my head, and I don't mean to brag, but...I'm pretty handsome. That with the fur swept to the side on my head gave me quite the elegant look.

Since I became known as Scar's heir, the hyenas had practically worshipped me, which I don't know if that's a good thing, but at least the lionesses were still nice, but they were a bit more...aloof to my presence now. I guess with me replacing Simba was a disrespect to his memory, especially when they saw I had become his friend, and his saviour. Nala though, she was something else. She didn't really hang around with me anymore, spending her time with the lionesses, but I miss her.

I never really thought about it, but I didn't know how old I was here. In my past life, I was 17, but here… I guess I'm maybe, what?, 7, I guess. I hate being a kid, never really being listened to, always being restricted, plus with the fact that Scar, I'm sorry, King Scar never let me go anywhere, except the graveyard to train, the waterhole to rest, and Pride Rock to sleep, and be taught how to be king, at least, in Scar's eyes.

He saw kings as figures of great intimidation, who all animals feared, and he governed his lands with an iron fis-paw, and if an animal broke the law, their sentence was the same as everyone's...death. I was supposed to never show mercy, never lower myself to help others, and never, ever thank others. I should expect gratitude, not ask for it. If I didn't show these qualities, I would be forced to train again at different times, forcing my body to be overwhelmed, my punishment for not being the prince I was expected to be.

I never asked to be prince, I never expected to be prince, but for some reason, Scar had chosen me, instead of the child he was supposed to have. When he chose me, he disregarded Zira, who wasn't even pregnant, because he couldn't wait for something that might not be what he wanted. With me as heir, Zira despised me, she thought that she should be Queen with Scar, but because of me, he can't see that he needs her. However, she doesn't seem crazy yet, just terrifyingly enraged.

When Scar gives me a day off, which is very rare, if I fulfill my lessons to his satisfaction, I like to roam around the Pridelands, seeing things that weren't showed in the movie. For instance, there was this secret little patch of trees, with a rock in the middle. I don't know why, but when I rested there for the first time, I felt all my stress and exhaustion melt away, giving me more energy. It's like, the area's alive, caring for me when I need it. One time I rested there, I thought I heard someone call my name, my real name, but I figured it was the wind.

 **LATER**

I woke up, prepared to go train, when I saw Scar standing at the entrance. When I walked over, it looked like he was deep in thought, but that was interrupted when he spoke to me.

"Athari, I have a special lesson for you today, so skip the other, and follow me." He started to walk down Pride Rock, so I had to jog to catch up. We reached a patch of bushes, and when Scar pushed it back, there was a small antelope child behind it. I didn't know what was happening, but Scar's eyes told me everything.

"Athari, you see this child?" I nod, confused. "Good, now...kill it." I'm shocked, and when I turn to Scar, his face was extremely serious. "This lesson is to show me whether you have cut away any merciful side of yourself, and to see if you truly want to be prince. If you don't complete this lesson, I will banish you, and you will be scorned by everyone you've met here. Now, what do you consider important? Your status," he smiles, "or your reputation." his face becoming a scowl.

I look at the child, and my thoughts are ones that split my moral compass. On the one hand, I could refuse, but then I can never protect the others from Scar's wrath. On the other, I can kill something not much younger than me, seeing as I'm just a cub, and I can remain prince, but I can never wash away the filth of my action. When I finally make my decision, I can't help but whisper, "I'm sorry." Within a second, my claws had sliced the antelope's neck, and Scar laughed, not one of joy, but of cruelty.

"Good, you're ready, and Athari…" he had started to walk away, leaving me with the corpse, which had a puddle forming around it. "Call me father from now on." I didn't want to, but in that moment, I couldn't help but cry for what I've done.

 **Oooooohh, dark chapter. Now, in the reviews, having Athari become king won out, and I'm not sure if I'm happy or not. In a way I am, seeing as it makes for a better story, in my eyes. However, It gives me a problem to work out. Now, I ask you, should I have Athari have a relationship with Nala, or should I have someone pop in. I've already got their thing going on, but I don't know, it's up to you really. Also, I don't know if I sound pretentious here, but if you want, you can draw fanart, and if you also want, I'll upload it as the cover for every version of Athari we get to, you know, child, teen, young adult, adult. If you want to send it to me, send it to** _ **lonewolfgamer56 (gmail account)** _**(don't judge me), and I'll pick the best one. I don't know if you remember, but if you don't know Athari's appearance, go to chapter 2 to find out. Too early?**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	10. Romance (Wink Wink)

**I forgot to mention, I got the idea for Scar's training from Aggregate Dragon's story** _ **What really happened in Lion King**_ **. It hasn't been updated in quite a while, but it was a nice read for a little bit. Without further ado, next chapter!**

I had kept sitting, staring at the dead body of the antelope. I know that, for lions it's normal, but for me, it was the murder of a living being that hadn't been aware of my presence. Scar...he's more of a monster than I thought he was. I looked back the way he left, and an idea popped into my head. I could sneak up on him, get Simba, and have him become king instead of me. The idea was pushed back as soon as it came in. I could never kill Scar, not while I'm still a cub anyway.

After a few more minutes, I realized I was hungry, and the thought of eating the antelope chilled my bones. However, the debate in my mind lost, and I finally bent down, and I took a small nibble. The taste...it was better than the zebra I had the first time I came here. Without controlling myself, I had devoured the antelope in no time flat. When I finished, I could feel the blood seeping down my face, and I hurriedly wiped it off, ashamed of myself. I couldn't think of the poor mother who'd learn their child was dead, killed by my paws.

I left then, heading back to Pride Rock, when I spotted a familiar figure heading my way. I ducked down, and soon enough, I saw Nala, looking around. I get up, and she jumps back, surprised. "Jeez, Athari, don't do that. Ever." She wipes her forehead, "What are you doing out here? I was coming to get you." I notice she's a bit nervous, like she's got something on her mind. "Are you okay, Nala? You look kinda nervous." She shuffles her paws around, and I don't know why, but I feel like I should run, far...and fast.

"Oh, it's nothing, just...I wanted to ask you if you, maybe, wanted to…" she takes a deep, long breath,"wanted to go to the cool spot we talked about a while back with…" she starts to cry, and my kindness kicks in, and I'm suddenly hugging her, with her head in my shoulder. 'It's okay, I miss him too." I know Simba's alive, but I can't reveal that. It's way too early for that. All this knowledge really gives me trouble.

She looks up at me, and gives me a grateful smile. "Athari, how do you do it? Not showing your emotions, but admitting them at the same time." I'm caught off guard at the question, but I didn't have to think about my response. "Well, I try not to focus on it, and...I only show it when nobody's looking." To be honest, I'm not really the kind of person to cry easily, or openly, but I'm not dead inside.

She thinks about that, and she gives another slight smile, "Well, you can show it to me. Now, come on, let's get there before it's dark." We start walking the way we went that day, a month back. It seems like a lifetime ago, but the pain is still fresh. "Hey Nala, how are you, and the other lionesses?" I ask, actually curious. She sighs, "Mom says that we're overhunting, and if we keep it up, eventually there'll be no animals left to hunt." I nod, it's not the beginning of the drought yet, but it should start in a year, maybe 2, I think.

Eventually, we reached the place Nala was talking about, and it just so happened to be the same patch of trees with a rock I found the one of the times I went exploring. "Hey, Nala, I've already found this place." She looks at me with shock, "What? Me and...Simba found this one time, but we never told anyone, except for you." She lies down on the rock, and I lie down next to it. "Man, this place is so relaxing, like it was made just for us." Nala says, with such a peaceful look, you could say the stampede never happened. "Yeah, it's really nice to come to, when I'm not being prince, of course."

I say, but then Nala rolls over, and looks at me upside down. "What is it you do as prince? Simba never really told me, except for being tought how to be king." Nala asks, with a bit of a haughty tone, making me chuckle. "Well, that's pretty much it, but I also train my body by…" I stop, not wanting to tell Nala about what I do every day, every morning since I became prince. Nala rolls back over, and quirks one of her eyebrows. "You train your body by, what? Wait, don't tell me, you run from hyenas." she says, laughing a bit. I tense up a bit, "What? Nooo, I...run around the Pridelands. It helps strengthen my legs." I respond, showing them to make my point.

She frowns, "Really, that's it? I thought you'd do something, like, lifting up rocks, or something. Running doesn't seem that fun." Then, she get's a mischievous smile, "Of course, it would be if you had someone with you. How about it? We can run together, talk together, play together." She went on a bit, but my heart was beating, I'd say, twice as fast as normal. I don't want to refuse her, but then she'd be in danger of being eaten. If I do, she might not be happy, but she'd be safe. I noticed she had stopped talking, and was staring at me. "What? I don't have something in my teeth do I?" I ask, mainly to drop the subject. Luckily, it works, making her laugh.

"No, it's just that, I never noticed how nice your eyes are. They're like the sky." she responds, making me blush. "Well, your eyes are like the ocean." I say, but earning a confused glare. "What's an ocean?" Nala asks, obviously never hearing about it, and I can't blame her, we live in the savannah. "It's this large body of water, but it's on the edge of Africa." I respond, trying to make it simple. Nala frowns, "How could there be so much water, but it doesn't rain a lot?" My head begins to hurt, I don't like questions all that much. "Well, it's not hot, for starters, so the water never disappears. The land around us is very old, after all." I say, although I'm not sure Nala understands, but she nods, accepting my answer.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." she looks around, "It's starting to get dark, we should head home." I look, and it's almost dusk, so we get up to go back. As we walk, I suddenly hear a roar, and to our left a male lion lands in front of us. "Well, what do we have here? Two cubs who wander out before it's dark, tsk tsk, it's shameful." He starts eyeing Nala, and I quickly move in front of her. "Yeah, it is really, so I guess we should be going." My paw hasn't even touched the ground, when he gets in my face. "Cubs like that should be punished, but I have a better idea. You'll stay with me, and when you get older…" he looks at Nala and me, with a look I don't like, "you'll help me take over this pride, and we'll start our own little family."

He reaches his paw out for Nala, but before that, something inside me snaps, and my claws rake across his eye, with him roaring in pain. He looks at me, with his left eye covered in blood and darting daggers, "You know, I tried to make this easy, but it seems I'll have to make an example out of you." He pounces me, and his open maw is right above my face, when I hear another roar, and the rogue flies away, with a large, dark brown blob. I look up, and I see Scar biting the rogue's mane, but he's quickly on the ground, with the rogue lifting a paw to strike. I get up, and with all the strength I have, I tackle the lion, and I scratch wherever I can, until something hits me, and I see nothing but darkness.

 **Yay! Athari and Nala happy moments, but it's interrupted by...whoever (stupid whoever). Looks like Nala/Athari romance is in sight, but don't tell Simba. Now, I know I don't upload as much as I used to (2 chapters a day), but with them getting longer, it takes longer to write, I have family, they annoy me, yada yada. Now, if you still want to do that fanart I talked about last chapter (which it's your choice, not forcing you), you may want to hurry, as I have someone working on it (I sound like such a douche, don't I?). If you want to send it to me, my email is (** _ **lonewolfgamer56 at symbol gmail . com**_ **) . I'm using spaces because Fanfiction won't show links, but anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	11. The Spice of Life

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed, was that my forehead hurt like _hell_. I put a paw up to it, and I immediately regretted it, with the shock of pain emanating from a wound, I'm guessing. I got up, but I was slower than usual, and I stumbled quite a bit. I looked around, and I was surprised to find myself in a giant tree, but I noticed different fruits hanging from the branches.

Suddenly, I hear singing coming way, getting quickly louder. Then the face of a very old monkey swings down in front of mine, making me fall back, surprised, while hurting my head even more. "Ha, ha, little cub, you should be more careful, especially with that wound on your forehead." I recognize Rafiki's voice, and I'm not surprised. I attempt to get up, but I'm pushed back down to the ground. "Ah, ah, ah, you stay dere, you're not ready to get back to prince duties. King Scar may not like it, but unless he wants no heir, he'll let you stay here." I relent, unhappily, but I'm fine with lying down, for now.

"Can you at least not pop up in front of me whenever you want? Agh, my head…" I put a paw back up to it, more carefully this time, and I felt what I think to be a leaf covering my wound. Rafiki kneels down in front of me, with some kind of liquid in a fruit shell. "Don't touch it, now let me treat it." He takes the leaf off, and it's covered with blood, like it's being smothered. I look away, feeling a bit dizzy. Then Rafiki covers where I'm guessing the wound is with an ointment, easing some of the pain. "There, it's a bit easier now, hmm? You took quite a nasty hit from that rogue, but it would've been much worse, had the king not saved you and Nala."

"What happened? All I remember is tackling that lion, being hit, then...nothing." I notice Rafiki going through some things on a nearby shelf, and I take the chance to look around. I'm in a sunlit room, and it appears to be connected to a natural staircase, which leads to who knows where. Rafiki comes back to me, this time with a dark substance in another shell. "Well, after you were knocked out, the king killed the rogue, and he brought you here. He does, however, want you back as soon as possible, but that'll take a few days. You're free in the mean time to walk around, but don't leave my tree. You can take visitors as well, as long as they stay within a reasonable amount of time. I don't want animals staying here for hours, and hours bothering me."

With that, he smudged the dark substance on my head, and let's just say, I'd rather die, than feel that. I had a hard time to not yell in pain, but sooner than I expected, the pain stopped. "I know it hurt, but that was for cleaning the wound, not how I'd like, but it kills any chance of it infecting. I'd prefer for it to be painless, but it was very dirty, and you're lucky I had that. It's not very common. Well, I'm off to see the king, to tell him how you are, but I want you resting. No straining yourself." He gave me a look that made his point, and he leapt up through the branches, and was gone.

I just there for a while, and just when I was gonna go to sleep, I hear footsteps rushing up the stairs. I'm surprised, for Nala comes up, and rushes to my side, nuzzling me. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? When Scar brought you here, no one knew when you'd be back. Oh man, your head." she starts to cry, but I quickly give her some pats on the back. "It's okay, I'm okay, Rafiki said I should stay here for a few days. I'd rather go back home, but he made it very clear I shouldn't return." I'm not really sure how to deal with girls, they're so confusing. One minute they're happy, the next they're crying their eyes out.

Nala looks up at me, and to my extreme surprise, she licks my cheek. I feel my heart beating rapidly faster, so fast I thought my heart would explode. I think we both started blushing at the same time, because her face turned red right when I felt heat flush mine. We just stood there, not saying anything, until Nala started clearing her throat. "That was...for...you know...protecting me from that lion. If you hadn't been there, he might've taken me without alerting the others." She started scratching herself, and I felt myself start sweating, really fast.

"Your...uh...welcome, I guess." I respond, not really thinking correctly. This is not what I needed, first my head, now this, I couldn't figure out what to say. Luckily, Nala got up, and she turned to me. "I guess, I'll see you in a few days, Athari." She started to walk down the stairs, and I just sat there, before I fell back, lying down. "Oh man, now what do I do? I've pretty much screwed up the story now, getting Nala to like me. Simba, I really can't wait until you come back." With that, I fell asleep, thinking about what just happened.

 **LATER**

I woke up to rough shoving, and I saw Rafiki trying to get my attention. "Athari, wake up, I need you to take something." With a yawn, I sat up, and I saw Rafiki getting something from a different shelf. He bounded back over, "Okay, now I need you to drink this, it'll help you to wake up." He then stuffed the edge of a shell into my mouth, and I could feel whatever was inside go down my throat. Sure enough, I was up in a second, mainly because my tongue was burning. Rafiki then gave me another shell, and from what I saw, I guess it was milk. I chugged it down, and the horror was over after a bit.

"Rafiki, why do you need me up? Especially when you said that I need to rest." I don't want to be up, especially when I saw that the sun was rising. Then I feel the smack of something hard on my right paw, and I flinch back. "OW, what the frig? Why'd you do that?" I start rubbing my paw, trying to ease the pain. Rafiki rolls his eyes, "Don't turn what I said on me, I need you up because your father," he makes air quotes, "wants to speak with you, and he wants you to be present when he makes his announcement."

He then starts to make his way down the stairs, gesturing me to follow. "What does he want to talk to me about? And what announcement?" I don't know what Scar could want with me, but I want to know why. Rafiki just shrugs, "I don't know that, but I do know the announcement will be about the recent hunts." Oh yeah, Nala told me about that, but the drought can't be starting already. It's too soon for the animals to leave.

We make our way to Pride Rock, and we see the lionesses, as well as the other hundred hyenas, waiting below. Scar is sitting at the top, and he motions us up to him. Rafiki hangs back a bit, obviously just watching, and I take a seat by Scar. He looks at me, and for some reason, I see a small glint of affection in his eyes. I don't really want to think he's become attached to me, but it's there.

"Now, as you know, the recent hunts haven't become as fruitful as we'd like, but to make up for this, the hyenas will start hunting as well, to bring back more." The hyenas start complaining, but one roar from Scar silences them immediately. However, one lioness stands up. "Scar, if we keep hunting like this, the animals will leave, and there will be no food. We must take only what is necessary." Sarabi speaks clearly, but Scar shoots a look of repulsiveness her way.

"Oh really? What would you consider necessary, with all the animals here? As I am king, my word stands, and you will follow it to the letter." he speaks back, but Sarabi shakes her head, and sits down. Scar looks around, "Anyone else have a word? No? Good, now go away." He then starts making his way up Pride Rock, and he looks back at me. "Athari, I'm not waiting all day." I run to catch up, and we climb up the path, until we're at the top of Pride Rock. The view was amazing, I could see everything, right towards the horizon.

Scar looks at me,"Athari, I want you to learn something, and I want you to remember it. Everything you see belongs to you, _everything_ ," he sweeps his arm across the air, "and the day you become king, will be the day you control those who live here. You must not think to be fair with them, you must grasp their lives with a firm paw." He stomps his paw down, and he looks over the edge. "Others will try to usurp your rule, but those who try must be killed. Never show mercy to those who resist you, they're weak, and you must not show that you are."

He looks at the sky, and he begins to walk away. "Now come, you must return to Rafiki and get back to his tree, I want you ready to train again soon." As I walk with him, I turn my head at him. "Scar," he growls,"uh, father, why did you save me, when that rogue attacked us?" He thinks a bit, before giving me an answer. "If you died, I'd have to wait for some other brat to take your place, and we don't want that, now do we?" I guess he hasn't changed.

 **WHOA, Nala, get down girl. It's getting hot in here, huh? I'm prepared to get this moving along, but that comes later. Now, if you noticed, the cover for the story has changed, and that is because I decided to put something of what Athari looks like up. If you can tell, I simply did a recolor of an image, but I think I did pretty good. The person who I wanted to do fanart is pretty busy, so I decided to give you an image of Athari as a cub.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	12. A Proposition?

The days I rested at Rafiki's tree weren't very exciting, as I mostly just slept, but every now and then Rafiki would bring something new to treat my wound, and I'd walk around. It was the last day I was there, but I had found some kind of hidden staircase I had to leap up, but when I did, I was amazed. I saw a painting on a flat part of a branch, and it was full of different animals and lions. From the top, there was a brown lion with a darker brown mane, a golden one with a black mane, a tan one with a dark red mane, and it ended with a brown lion with a black mane, All the ones above it had been smeared, I'm guessing their dead, and that would mean… Scar is the last one.

These must have been the kings before him, leading up to Mohatu, but no one knows who came before him. I had begun to wonder who painted these, when I hear swishing in the branches behind me. I ducked behind the branch, and I saw Rafiki enter the room, with a shell with some very light paint. I watched him for a little bit, and when he stopped, I decided to give him his own medicine. Right before he turned around, I jumped out, "Hey Rafiki!" He stumbled back, and I couldn't help but laugh seeing his face.

"Child, don't do that. Ever. You're lucky I just finished this painting, future king." I don't know what he's talking about, but when I turn to see what he painted, I had to gasp. Below Scar, there was a fresh painting, and it was a pale, silver lion, but without a mane. It had to be me, as prince. I look back at Rafiki, and he has a smug little face. "Regret what you did? Yes, that is you, but in the future, "he stepped forward, cupping his hands around my painting's face, "it will be full." He was right, I was a little sorry, but not enough to not rub it in his face. "Well, I only did it, seeing as you did it to me the first day I was here." We both laughed, and Rafiki started leading me down the stairs. "So you decided to do the same to me on your last day. Clever boy, aren't you?" he asked me, as we reached the entrance to the tree.

Rafiki took a breath, "Well, you have recovered, so you may return home. I want you to be careful next time, though, you might be too far away for me to heal you." With that, he leapt back up his tree, and I started on my way. On the way to Pride Rock, I noticed some animals were staring at me, not out of fear, but some kind of respect. Can I go one day, without being praised in any way? I don't even know why they do it, I haven't done much of anything. When I got to Pride Rock, some hyenas went up to me. "Scar wants to see you, so you'd best go now." I had started my way up, when I noticed they were following me. "Why are you following me?" I asked, when one stepped forward. "Scar wants you to have an escort from now on, to keep you safe." he rolls his eyes, I'm guessing he doesn't see the point. I continue on, and when I reach the king's den, as it's now called, I saw Scar lazing about. When he saw me, he motioned me forward.

"Athari, good, you're healed. I want you training again, but you'll have an escort, so I don't have to rescue you, if something happens. Also, now when you train, you'll do it again, but you'll go the way you began. That's all." and he went back to sleep. I had begun to walk out the den, when I saw Sarabi walk up to me. "Prince Athari, before you go, I would ask you to come see me and the lionesses." she gives a look to the hyenas, and walks back down. I walk the way she went, and I came to one of the dens the lionesses use now. Inside, I saw Sarabi, Sarafina, and some other lionesses I don't know. I had just made it inside, when Rafiki entered as well.

I don't know when he got here, but he sat down with the lionesses. "Athari, as you know, you have protected Nala twice now, and we brought you here to offer a proposition." Sarabi started, and I noticed Sarafina was a bit nervous. She was looking at me, and she looked like she was judging me. Sarabi continued, "Seeing as you have protected her, we would offer her as your future mate, but," she paused, and I swear everything went blurry. Oh my god, why? Why does everyone want me to be with Nala?, "to become Nala's mate, you must agree to overthrow Scar, when the time comes. The day you become a strong adult, we will call upon you to act. We know that you and Nala have become...attached. Do you agree to these terms?" she asks, and I ponder it for quite a while.

Overthrow Scar, that's something I wasn't sure I'd ever do. Become Nala's mate, I never dreamed of it. Maybe, maybe I could get Simba, and with him...yeah. I could fix the story, make it the way it's supposed to be. Alright, everything's going my way. I look up, "Alright, I agree, but the day you call, I would need to leave, for a week at least. I also would have to bring Nala, if that's alright with you." They get into a little corner and start whispering, and I can't help but feel that girls like to keep everything secret. They finally turn back to me, "Deal, and we will not tell Nala this, as it might ruin your chances. Okay, now go train. We've kept you long enough." Sarabi finished, with a parting smile, and I left to go to the graveyard.

When I got there, there were more hyenas than usual, and I got in place. When one hyena whistled, that was the signal to run for my life. Over time, I had found hiding places in the graveyard, and I made sure to use every one. I had just reached the end, when I turned around, and found myself face to face with a lot of hyenas. They were blocking every point I could escape, when I saw the spine and ribcage of an elephant to the left. I readied myself, and I leapt over the jaws of the hyenas, right onto the spine. I began climbing, when I heard the hyenas climbing up after me. I reached the top, and I slid down to the bottom where I flew into the air. I realized during this, that the spine must've been the same one Simba and Nala used when they came here.

When I landed, I saw the clearing up ahead of me, and I started running towards it, when a hyena blocked the way. "You're not going anywhere, princey. I'm getting hungry, and that leg looks like a nice appetizer." Then I did something, I personally think was smart, and I dived under his legs, right into the clearing. I heard another whistle, and I guess I finished. I was exhausted, that was way harder than my original training. I had started to walk home, when I felt something step on my tail. I looked back, and the same hyena from earlier was staring at me. "Hey, hey, where do you think you're going? I'm not finished with you." Some hyenas had walked up, and they were looking at the hyena on my tail. "Hey, Gek, let him go. He's done, we're not chasing him anymore." one of the hyenes spoke up, but Gek just snarled at him. "So? That doesn't mean I can't get a bite. I'm starving here, and lion is right on the menu."

He had started leaning closer, but the hyena who spoke up pushed him away. "What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to get killed? That's the prince, if you touch him you'll be personally introduced to Scar." Gek had gotten up, and he got into a fighting position. "Get out of my way, Adelmo, before you meet my claws." He had started trying to get around the hyena, Adelmo I'm guessing, when he leapt onto Gek, trying to hold him down. "Stop this, Gek, what's wrong with you? I don't want to hurt you, but I'll have to if you keep this up." He kept trying to hold Gek down, but Gek bit his arm, and pushed him off. "I'm having that kid, and you ain't gonna stop me." He started running my way, but Adelmo leapt on him, and bit his neck. Gek started slowing down, and he finally fell to the ground. Adelmo was breathing hard, and he looked at me, "Sorry, prince, I hope'd he'd be fine, but he always had an opinion." he finished, with a chuckle. I reached my paw out, "Thanks, my name's Athari." he took my paw, "I'm Adelmo, proud to serve." and we finished, with a shake of the paws.

 **Wow, that was close, but what's with Sarabi, huh? Athari's a kid, you don't ask him that, well he's not technically a kid, but still. I noticed I had started putting Nala in the chapters a bit too much lately, so I only made a reference for her. Looks like Athari's got a new friend, and he'll pop up into the story later on, but I'm not focusing on him. I'm doing a time jump next chapter, and you'll see Athari as a teen, so don't freak out.**

 **Gek - crazy**

 **Adelmo - noble protector**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter**


	13. Dried-up Hopes

**ONE YEAR LATER**

I kicked up some dry dirt, and it flew away in a cloud of dust. The rains hadn't fallen in a while, and now the grass was a dried-up yellow. The waterhole was drinkable, but there isn't as much water as before. I had drunk from the water one day, and I saw I had part of a mane now, and I look like Kovu mixed with Simba. I hadn't given it much thought, but I've been here for than a year, and strangely enough, I don't miss my old family that much. I know I had them, but I've lived without them for awhile, and I'm used to this life.

I looked back at Pride Rock, and the stone itself had a slight blur to it, with all the heat. The lionesses were out, trying to find something to eat. Most of the animal herds have moved on, and there's only a few left. Scar still wants to keep hunting, but Sarabi and the others try to tell him it's ruining the Circle of Life. I never really believed myself, but with everything that's happening, they may be right. Even the hyenas are complaining, and they never had much to begin with.

I start to head to Pride Rock, when I hear, "Athari." I look around, but there's nothing but the wind blowing. I start to shrug it off, when I hear it again, "Athari." This has to be some kind of joke, no one's around, there's nothing except the wind. I try to walk away, but the wind starts blowing against me, "Athari, come with me." I hear someone say, and I'll be honest, I freaked a little. No one expects the wind to talk to you, but here it is, telling me to follow it. I turn to see where the wind's blowing, and it's pointing to a very familiar valley.

I walk to the gorge, and I can't help, but feel sad. This is where Mufasa died, and I start reliving the dream I had when I was a kid, where I was thrown in the wildebeest herd by Scar after Mufasa. I have to shake it off, I can't think about that, someone wants me here, and I have to find out why. I walk down to the bottom, and I try to find what could be here. The wind blows down the valley, and I follow it. However, before I take 10 steps, "ATHARI!" I turn around, and Scar is at the top of the gorge, with eyes full of fury. "Come out of there. NOW!" I start walking up the gorge, when I hear, "Another time." I can't stop hearing things, can I?

When I got there, Scar was shaking in anger. "What are you doing here? Did I not tell you when you became prince to never come here?" I remember, it was the third day after I became his son, I was coming from training, "Athari?" Scar was sitting in front of the den, "Have you ever been to the gorge?" I shook my head, "No, but I know that the stampede was there." Scar got in my face, "Never go there, do you hear me? Don't even talk about it, it is forbidden." He walked away, into the den, leaving me with a very chastised feeling. I look at Scar, "Yes, I remember, but I came because-", Scar roars, "Because what? You feel like undermining my authority? You think I'm not worth listening to? Let me tell you, you ingrate, I could throw you out, and produce a new heir. One who will follow my every order, something you cannot seem to do." He begins to walk away, leaving me in stunned silence, just like he did 1 year ago.

I mumble, "At least Mufasa respected me." Scar whips around, "What did you say?" I see the barely controlled anger in his eyes, "I said eh-um hey que pasa?" He narrows his eyes, "That's what I thought, brat." Then he leaves, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Now I can see why Banzai was scared, he'd rip me to shreds just saying Mufasa. I walk to the patch of trees, and I lay down on the rock. Just being here calms my every nerve, but it'd be better with someone else. Lately, I've started...having feelings for Nala. I try to forget them, but they creep up on me, never letting go. They're not wrong feelings, they're just feelings of wanting companionship, wanting to not be alone. I can't do this to myself, I have to push them away. Nala and Simba must be together.

I think about the recent year, and everything that's happened. Me and Zazu became pals, although he never did forgive me about letting him get sat on by that rhino. Nala recently started hunting with the other lionesses, but she's still learning. The hyenas have started giving me a wide berth, probably because now I'm a half grown lion. That, and because my training has been kicked up a notch. Instead of running from them, now it consists of taking on small groups, usually 2 or 3. I don't mean to brag, but let's just say that I'm a small Mufasa that can almost handle a few. I can take them out, but I always have a few scratches, or a bite mark. It hurts, yeah, but my body is in great shape. Although, Scar doesn't really care any more. I don't know why, but ever since he told me to call him father, I feel like I have to have him care, to make him notice my progress.

I sigh, and I get off the rock. This place is bringing up things I don't like, and I'm almost certain it's doing this on purpose. I can't think of what to do, but I suddenly notice that my throat is kinda dry. My head turns to where the waterhole is, and I start my way there. When I get close enough, I notice that a group of animals is standing around it, blocking my view. When I push through them, I gasp. The waterhole is completely empty, and the animals are shouting. Something about the hyenas, and another about more than their share. I look around, and the hyenas are on the other side, with angry snarls on their faces. I run to Pride Rock, but I'm cut off by Sarabi. "Athari, what's wrong? We just got back from the hunt." she asks, with a very worried look, indeed. I reply, "The waterhole, it's dried up, and the animals are blaming it on the hyenas." Sarabi growls, "I knew it! Those dumb dogs have been drinking too much, and now they've emptied the waterhole. Scar must know about this." She begins to walk up, and I go with her.

When we reach the den, Scar is just laying down, toying with a small bone. Sarabi steps forward, "Scar, the waterhole has dried up, and it's because of your hyenas." She says the word hyenas with audible disgust, but Scar doesn't move. "Sarabi, if a waterhole dried up, it's because the rains haven't fallen. I don't think hyenas control the weather." she gives her a look of contempt. I step up to him, "Father, the animals are outraged. They blame the hyenas for drinking more than their share. If you don't do something-" Scar leaps up, "Or what? First, you don't obey me, now you think I must do something about a petty squabble between the rabble? Don't come to me with this, as I am king, my word is law." he stomps a paw at the end, but Sarabi doesn't look happy.

"Scar, as you are king, you must solve every problem the kingdom has, whether it is about a dried up waterhole, or it is about an elephant who won't eat. If this behavior continues, the animals will leave." She tries to make him see the point, but Scar just shakes his head. "No Sarabi, they will not leave, and the king does not go to the whim of his subjects over every little thing. They will solve their own problems, and if they feel like it's not enough, that's their problem. Now leave me, before my headache grows." He lays down again, and we leave, with Sarabi giving a very disappointed sigh. "He will never learn, the king is a symbol of hope, not a cruel one." I pat her on the back, "Hey, we'll figure something out. It can't get worse from here." Sarabi gives a grateful smile, but suddenly I hear footsteps, "Hey Athari." I turn my head to see Nala, and I must say, she is very beautiful.

 **Hey guys, sorry for the wait, I did the same thing I did last weekend. I wanted to stay here and write for you guys, but I was bribed with money and ice cream (money money). I tried to write there, but it got hard, and I'm starting to run out of ideas. To be honest, I started this chapter two days ago, but I couldn't think of where to go with it. However, I'm starting to get back on track, and now that the end is almost in sight, I can start some ideas I've been thinking of. Also, I hope you enjoyed Athari as a teenager, another recolor. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, we're getting there, the end.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	14. The Prince has a Bride

I have to do a double take, I haven't really seen Nala in a while, I'm usually too busy doing princely things, but her beauty takes me away. She's kind've muscular, but not fully, and she already has the strong features she has as an adult. It just blows my mind how I haven't noticed how pretty she is, but...I can't do this. I can't do this to Simba, he belongs with her, but she's just...I grab my head, trying to regain my senses. When I do, I see Nala and Sarabi staring at me with worry. "Athari, are you alright?" Nala asks, with caution. I give her a reassuring smile, "Yeah, I'm okay, I'm just a bit overwhelmed with everything that's happening." Nala nods, and then she smiles.

"Hey, so, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to this waterfall I found. It's kind've far, but it's amazing." I can't refuse her, can I? "Sure, I'd love that." I respond, but before we walk away, Sarabi puts a paw on my shoulder. "Nala, before you both go, I need to have a word with Athari. Don't worry, it'll be quick." Nala looks back, "Oh, okay, I'll be waiting down here then." She walks down the rest of Pride Rock, and I look at Sarabi. "Am I in trouble, or what's up?" She gives me a mischievous smile. "I saw that look, you're falling for her, aren't you?" I feel my heart quicken, "What? Noo...you're crazy. I mean, why would I do that? Totally wouldn't do that." I try to give a confident smile, but she raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Oh well, too bad, considering she's not that pretty, anyways."

She starts to walk away, but I intercept her. "What do you mean? She's gorgeous, I don't know how anyone could resist her." I realize what I said, but Sarabi's already smiling. "Hey, it's okay, I understand. You're finally seeing her as who she is, not as who she used to be." I stare at her, "That doesn't make sense." Sarabi sighs, "What I mean is, you're realizing that she's a strong young girl, not as a cub who was betrothed to someone else." I think about that, and I guess she's right. Although technically, she's still supposed to marry Simba, but I...really hate my life right now. I look back at Sarabi, "You're right, I have every chance with her now. Might as well use it." She nods, "Yes, now you should go with her, before she thinks you've done something wrong."

I walk down Pride Rock, and I see Nala laying down. "Hey Nala, ready to go?" I ask, and she gets up, stretching. "You guys talked for a while, what was it about?" she responds, and I think of an answer. "We talked about the animals, and what the hyenas are doing." Nala scowls, "Have I ever told you how much I hate hyenas?" We start walking away from Pride Rock, with me following her. I shrug, "I don't think so, why?" Nala looks ahead, "Well, remember that time, when me and Simba went into the Elephant Graveyard with Zazu?" I nod, "Well, there were three hyenas, and they were talking about eating us. We ran away, but they took Zazu, and they put him into some kind of hot water. Now, his tail feathers are singed, and I feel like we were responsible."

I see her face has a frown, so I walk in front of her, "Hey, it's not your fault, if anything, it could've been much worse. If you hadn't distracted the hyenas, Zazu could be dead." She nods, but then her head raises, as does her eyebrow. "How do you know about that? You never entered there, so how could you know?" Oh crap, I'm in the lion skewer now. Wait, Zazu you just saved my hide. "Oh, Zazu told me, after you guys came back." She glares at me for a sec, but then it gives to a smile. "Okay then, well let's go to the waterfall, it's almost time." I walk after her, thinking it's almost time for what? We reached what looked like a canyon flanked by a jungle, and I realized that this is where Rafiki led Kovu and Kiara in that song "Upendi". I never cared much for that song, but it didn't make sense how Rafiki did all that.

I followed Nala up this path to the top of the waterfall, and she turned to me. "Okay, now close your eyes." I didn't see the point of doing so, but with her insistence I finally closed them. She moved me into a sitting position, "Okay, now open them" When I did, I couldn't believe it. I saw the land before me in a purple haze, with the sun fading behind us. Everything was in such brilliant colors, and it made me feel so happy. When I looked at Nala, I could tell she felt the same way. Suddenly, my heart started feeling strained, but in a good way. I just felt so calm, and when I looked at her, it doubled in strength. I know what's happening, but screw it, I don't care anymore. I leaned in, and I pressed my lips to Nala's. At first, she became rigid, probably with shock, but then she relaxed, and she returned the kiss.

I can't describe it, it's like the entire world became one giant dessert. It's impossible to not enjoy it, and it only gets better the more you try. When we parted, I could see in her eyes that she was in love as well. "Athari...I didn't think you felt this way." I take a step forward, almost nose to nose with her. "I've been feeling this for quite a while, and I don't regret it. Do you feel the same way?" She crept closer, and whispered in my ear, "Ever since you saved my life." I felt my body tingle, and I whispered back, "I'd do it a thousand times, if only to hear that again." Nala giggled, "I'd gladly tell you again, but how will you make me?" I looked at her, and she had quite the mischievous look in her eyes. "What do you suggest?" I respond, and then I'm suddenly over the waterfall, with a laughing lioness by my side.

When I hit the water, I feel Nala cling onto me, and I cling back. When we reach the shore, we both climb out of the water, drenched completely. I give Nala a look, and she just smiles back. When I look at the sky, I see the stars are out, and I turn back to Nala. "Come on, let's get back, or if you want...we could stay here and gaze at the stars." She playfully pushes me, "Of course, I wouldn't do it with anyone else." We both lay down, and we scoot next to each other, nuzzling closely. I know the story has been changed, but this feels right, like I wouldn't have it any other way. We sat there, staring across the vastness of the sky, together in our love.

When I woke up, I found that I was on my back, with Nala laying across on top of me. I thought to give her more time to sleep, but she got up soon after I did. After she yawned, her eyes met mine, and they were full of joy. "Morning sleepyhead, how did you sleep?" I asked, which she replied with a nuzzle. "Good, with the fact that you're here." I wish we could have stayed like that, but I realized we had stayed away from the pride for the entire night. "We should go back, they're probably worried." We both got up, and I felt my fur had dried, for the most part, overnight. "Yeah, and we may as well tell the pride the news." I didn't know what she meant at first, but then I knew she meant the fact that we're now a couple. I gave a smile, "Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way."

We began our journey home, and when we got there, Sarabi, Sarafina, and the other lionesses came rushing over. "Thank the spirits, you're both okay? Where were you? We thought you might've been hurt, or worse." Sarabi was the first to speak up, but when she saw our smiles, and the way we were both close to each other, she gave way to a knowing look. "Oh, so you…" we nodded, "and that means…" she pointed a toe at the two of us, and we nodded, more energetically. Sarafina gave Nala a hug, "Oh, my little girl found her true love, this is great." Nala's cheeks blushed, "Mom, it's not that big a deal, it's okay." Sarafina pulled away, and she gave me a stern look. "Now, if I learn that you ever hurt my daughter…" I put my arms up, in a surrendering gesture, "Hey, I wouldn't dream of it, she's too great a lion for me to do that." We nuzzled, and the lionesses gave a resounding "Awww". However, I heard footsteps, and when I looked up, I saw Scar at the bottom of the stairs. "Well, does this mean we have a future queen?"

 **Hey guys, it's pretty late, time-wise, not upload-wise, but I got stuck doing a bunch of things. So, Athari and Nala are officially a couple now, and it looks like the plan is set in motion. I decided to bring something from both movies to the table, but I left out the drug trip Rafiki put Kiara and Kovu on (passion fruit). Now, I think some of you may be worried about some kind of sex scene, what with the teasing I put Athari and Nala go through, but do not fear, I'm not that guy, so it'll remain T-friendly. I hope you enjoyed, and there's more to come.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	15. Needing Some Comfort

Scar was still walking forward, but his eyes were somewhere else. When I looked where they were headed, I saw he was peering at Nala. I know about the song Disney didn't put in Lion King, so I intercepted his vision. "Yeah, dad, me and Nala are officially…an item." It was still a bit weird saying that, but I don't mind now, it's my story after all. "Scar, now that we have a future queen, I believe you no longer need one. After all, you have no reason to father more offspring, since Athari is prince." Sarabi had stepped forward, I think trying to make a point. I looked around, and I saw Zira, away from all of us, with a look of sheer rage. Scar's face grew into a slight scowl, but it then gave to an accepting one. "You're right Sarabi, I no longer need a queen. However, I think you need to learn something."

He started walking forward, and he leaned in to whisper in Sarabi's ear. I don't know what he said, but with with Sarabi's expression going to fear, I'm almost certain it was something along the lines of "I may not need a queen, but every male has certain...urges that need taking care of." I had never thought Scar was capable of...rape, but just looking at Sarabi's eyes told me he wasn't afraid of walking that path. I had to get his attention away from Sarabi, but how...I look behind me, and I see Zira, still looking at us all with a murderous look. Okay, this might work, or...I don't know, this'll probably work. I walk up to Scar, "Father, I don't know if you've noticed, but that lioness over there seems interested in you." I saw him look towards Zira, and when I looked too, her face had lightened up with a smile, and a very seductive look.

I peered back at Scar, and sure enough, I could see he was interested in her now. Alright, now that that's taken care of, I walked back to the lionesses, with a fearful Sarabi in the middle. "Sarabi, are you okay?" I ask, with her looking at me, with those same disturbed eyes. "He...he said that even he...oh no." I could tell I was right, and I put a paw on her shoulder, "It's okay now, Sarabi, he already has his eyes set on someone else." When she gave me a confused look, I subtly pointed at Zira, and Sarabi's face fell to one of relief. "She's been set on Scar for quite a while, at least it won't be much of a problem, with you almost ready to ascend to the throne. Actually, I believe it is time for you to start learning." Learning what? I give her a look, and she laughs.

"Yes, I don't believe you've been told of this, but it's time for you to learn how to be king, the right way." She started walking towards Pride Rock, but I turn to Nala, "I'll see you later." I give her a quick nuzzle, when I hear "Awww" I look at the lionesses, who try to stifle their giggling. I roll my eyes, and I start after Sarabi. When we reach Pride Rock, we enter the cave where I was given the offer that sparked my relationship with Nala. When we both sit down, in the same places as before, Sarabi clears her throat, "Alright, now then, I want to know what you think a king should be. Not what Scar tried to put into your head, but what you genuinely believe." I started thinking for a moment, reflecting on what I saw from Mufasa and Simba when they were king. I look at Sarabi, "A king should be a protector of his subjects, and he must not pass judgement from what he feels, but from what is right. He must not be too stern, but he must show he is strong. He should always deal with the problems of the kingdom, instead of leaving them to linger."

I finished, with Sarabi nodding, but with a slight frown. "What you say is true, but you're not entirely right on one subject. While a king feels he should pass what is right, what he feels is right doesn't always agree with the populace. Some animals will have different opinions, and if they feel their king is being soft, they may leave, bringing others with them. Remember, a king should pass what balances between all groups, instead of going for one majority." I brought this in, studying those words. Okay, I have to balance the animals, but how can I when there's more animals than others. When I peered up, I saw Sarabi with a slight smile on her face. "I can tell you're already debating problems, but don't worry about that right now. When the time comes, you'll show what kind of king you are." The kind of king I'll be, that's what worries me. I could easily be like Scar, or I could push myself to be like Mufasa, or I could try to be like Simba. For the rest of the day, Sarabi taught me how to be the right king, and at the end, I retired to the King's Den, where I fastly fell asleep.

When I woke up, I grew confused, for it was still night, and I could tell it was nowhere close to dawn. I looked around, and I began to hear something. I lied still, and I started hearing footsteps coming towards the den. Soon, I saw Scar, with an unusually happy Zira close behind. "Oh Scar, you don't know happy you've made me, with you choosing me to be your queen." I heard Scar chuckle, "Zira, Zira, why wouldn't I pick you? You're certainly more loyal than the others, and, dare I say it, more beautiful." Zira laughs, in that weird high-pitched one girls do, "Scar, dear, you certainly know how to flatter a lady. Now, tell me, what else can you do?" I hear the tone Zira's using, and when I check to make sure they're not looking, I race out of the den, trying my best to not be heard. It must have worked, because I didn't hear a single sound come after me.

I reached the bottom of Pride Rock, and I lean against a wall, breathing raggedly. I can't tell why I'm like this, I'm very fit, that shouldn't have been so tiring. However, I begin to think about it, and I don't like the answer. Scar's been my only father since I've been here, and I hate to think it's like Zira's becoming my stepmother, but in reality, she practically is. Oh god, I need something to distract me, but what? I try to think of something, when I hear a sound. When I look where it came from, I see Nala, with a worried look. "Athari, what are you doing out here? It's just past midnight." I try to give a smile, "I could ask you the same thing. I'm just...getting a breather." Nala, though, sees past my smile, "Don't lie to me, I can tell you're not okay. What's wrong?" I want to reassure her, but the pleading look on her face breaks down my walls. "It's just...Zira and Scar came back, and...I feel like I'm being given a new mom. I don't want to feel that, but it's true. I feel like my real mom is being replaced."

I look back at Nala, but I'm already receiving a hug. "Hey, you don't have to feel that way. No one can replace your parents, no matter if they're the nicest animals you've ever met." Nala leans back from the hug, and kisses me. I can't help but feel my cheeks burn, but they're not as intense as the first time. When we lean back, Nala smiles at me. "Hey, if you don't feel like going back, if you want...you can sleep with me and my mom in our cave. It's not very big, but there's still plenty of room." I begin to feel my heart beating fast again, but it's more nervous than anything. "Are you sure she won't mind? I mean, I'm pretty sure a guy doesn't go to his girls place on the second day…" Nala puts a toe to my lips, "It's okay, she'll understand, besides, it's not like we're gonna do anything that we might regret." I smile back at her, "Okay, if you're sure. Thank you, by the way, for doing this." We begin to walk towards the den, "Of course, after all, you did save my life. It's the least I could do." When we finally settle down, I think of how lucky I am, to have someone like Nala.

 **Hey guys, I am very, very, very sorry for the long wait, I've been staying somewhere for summer vacation, and I finally got a chance to write. Hey there, looks like Scar and Zira are sticking to the original story, but Athari isn't very pleased. Good old Nala, being there to give him some comfort, and Athari's looking like he's gonna become a great king. If anyone got the reference to Simba, with the judgement thing, I'm very proud of you. Also, I'd like to say how much I appreciate how much you guys love this story, it really means a lot. To be honest, I didn't know if I wanted to work on this chapter, but reading your reviews always pushes me forward. I hope you enjoyed, and we're only several chapters away, away from the end. Don't freak, I've got lots of ideas left.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	16. Can You Feel The Love?

When I wake up, I see that the the land outside is already in a bright glare. I look around, trying to figure out where I am, when I remember what happened the night before. Instantly, the feelings of gratitude and love come back, but they're soon replaced by sadness and betrayal. I feel my paw on my face before I know I moved it, and I feel my eyes begin to heat up. With great strength, I force myself to not cry, and I get up to exit the cave. As I leave, I see Scar talking to Sarafina, and I can tell he's in a rage. "He is my son, and you may not harbor him without my consent." Sarafina looks like she's about to pass out. "He stayed for the night, I don't see the problem. He willingly came and-" Scar got in her face, "The problem is that you should have came to me, as his father and your king, instead of thinking this wouldn't have happened. Maybe it isn't your fault entirely, after all, Mufasa always did-"

Before he could finish, I had raced over, gaining Scar's attention. "Father, she has done nothing wrong, I wanted to come here. They invited me in, and I took the offer. There's no problem, end of story." Scar's face grew into a scowl, but after a few moments, he sighed, "Alright, I'll let this go, but" he looked at Sarafina, "if this ever happens again, you will be banished." He walked away, up Pride Rock, and I turned back to see how Sarafina was doing. I don't know if I should be relieved, she looks more frustrated than scared. "I don't know what I'll do, he just can never let the small things go." I lower my head to get in her eye sight, "Hey, let's just be glad that I have some influence over him. I guess being a son for a while gains you some bonus points." At that, Sarafina chuckled, and she smiled at me. "It could also be that you see the reason in things, whereas he doesn't. That's why you'll be a great king, and a great husband."

I try not to show it, but inside I'm blushing very hard. I'm getting used to it, but marrying Nala never really crossed my mind. However, it's quickly overtaken when I hear hyenas coming towards us. "Prince Athari, you need to begin your training, seeing as you haven't done it today." I turn to answer the hyena who spoke up, when I see a familiar face. "Adelmo, is that you? I haven't seen you since you saved me from that crazy hyena, how have you been?" I'm surprised however, when he doesn't show the same enthusiasm. "Prince, we don't have time for chat, we must go." I begin to walk towards the Elephant Graveyard, "Oh, okay," I turn back to Sarafina, "I guess I'll see the rest of you later then." Sarafina gives a little wave, " Alright, and I'll tell Nala where you are if she asks." On the way to the graveyard, I keep glancing at Adelmo, trying to see if he reacts. Instead, he just looks forward, with a tired look in his eyes. I'm about to ask about it, but we've already reached our destination, and my hyena escort disperses.

I enter the clearing, and I prepare myself to fight the hyenas, but instead, I'm met by Scar. "Ah, Athari, weren't expecting me, eh? Well, you're starting real combat now. Here's the twist...it's your fellow lions." I don't know what he means, until I see a group of lionesses come from the fog behind him. I'm shocked, when I see Sarabi with them, with a face of sorrow. Scar steps forward, "Don't worry, they won't kill you, but that doesn't mean you should hold back. This is to prove you can defend yourself as a king, to show you won't spare anyone, even if it's mere trespassing. Now, let us begin." Before I know it, the lionesses charge me, and I have to react quickly to dodge their paws, which happen to have their claws out. Luckily for me, there's only four, unluckily, there's four. One of them tries to swipe at me, but I dodge it, only to feel a pain across my side. I leap onto one of them, and I bat them with my paw, but I'm rolled over. "Don't just hit them, use your claws. If you don't, you'll die very quickly as king." I hear Scar call out.

I don't know what happened, but I think about the day a rogue attacked me and Nala as cubs, and adding the unbearableness of Scar, I break. My vision goes into a red haze, but I can tell my body's moving, and I feel the claws of the lionesses hitting me. It's right before I'm about to bury my teeth into a lioness' neck, "Enough! We're done here. Athari, stay there." I look down to the lioness below me, and I see Sarabi, with a face of pure shock. I hurriedly get off her, "Sarabi, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened." Sarabi gets up, but her eyes are still wide. "It's okay, I understand, you were pushed too far. Just...be more careful." She starts to walk away with the others, and I'm about to follow them, when Scar comes down. "Well, Athari, you certainly surprised me today. I never thought you'd be able to take down a fully grown lioness, especially at your age. It does, however, matter if you're covered in blood. A king should never let himself be injured, it's a show of weakness, and it's not tolerated. Clean yourself up, and then return home."

I don't know if I should feel glad, or unhappy. I was praised, than scolded right after. This day is, very possibly, getting worse and worse. Why is my life the one that's so confusing? I looked over myself, and I was bleeding in a few spots. I hadn't registered it at first, but when I saw the marks, I felt the pain come with it. It wasn't the worst thing ever, but it definitely bothered me. I didn't want anyone to see me, so I began to walk back to Pride Rock, but I stopped when I was almost there. Then I started the task of reaching the claw marks, with almost no success. I was able to stop the bleeding on my shoulder with licking it, not my favorite thing, but the others proved...difficult. It didn't matter what I tried, I never got to them. Eventually I gave up, and I decided to just let them heal by themselves and go home.

I had just reached the bottom of Pride Rock, when I hear my name. "Athari!," Nala races down, and nuzzles me deeply, "Oh my gosh, what happened to you?" I'm about to say something, when I feel something begin to touch me. I look at Nala, and she's licking my wounds. "Nala, what are you doing?" She doesn't stop, but turns her eyes at me. "I'm treating them, idiot. If I don't, they could get infected, and I'm not letting you get sick." I sit there, letting her do her thing, when I feel her stop, and she raises her head to mine. "Look, I don't care what happened, but I want you to promise me something." I nod, "Alright, what?". Nala then nuzzles me again, "Promise me that you won't get yourself killed. If you died, I don't know what I'd do." Feelings of regret begin to drown me, for worrying her like this. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere. I promise, but only because I love you too much to worry you like this."

I realize what I said, but Nala's already raised her head, with both brows raised. "Did you say you love me?" I feel my heart pound, "It's not bad, is it? Now I've screwed up, why can't I ever-" I'm interrupted when I feel Nala kiss me, with much more intensity than before. When we break apart, she has tears coming down her face with a smile. "Of course it's not, I love you too. It's the best thing that's happened in my life." She nuzzles me, and after a moment of shock, I nuzzle her back. I don't know how long we were like that, but when I open my eyes, I see Sarabi with Sarafina, and they both have huge smiles on their faces.

 **Hey guys, I know this chapter is a bit short, but I hope the content makes up for it. Well, it's official, the L-words have been spoken, and it looks like Sarabi and Sarafina are happy. Scar, man, making Athari fight Sarabi and...whoever. I'm just glad all's been forgiven, and that no one's really hurt. Now, I hope you're prepared, because another time jump is up next! You're gonna see the beautiful couple as adults, and with a little editing, they're perfect together. However, I currently don't have the image uploaded to my Image Manager, so you may have to wait, hopefully not too long. Also, some of you may be wondering when Simba comes back into the picture, and that's also next chapter! I hope you enjoyed, and feel the love!**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	17. Getting Greedy

**ONE YEAR LATER**

I look around, and I don't like what I see. I'm sitting on top Pride Rock, and there's nothing around us, except death and decay. The ground itself had turned to an ashen grey, and all surrounding plant life was barren. Even the rivers had stopped flowing, and the rains hadn't come for more than two years. The animal herds had left, forcing the lionesses to hunt beyond the borders, usually with little luck. Just like in the movie, the hyenas had begun complaining to Scar, but he rebuked them, saying they should try harder to hunt. I don't even want to think about Zira, seeing as she had Nuka a few months after I told Nala I loved her. He seems fine, but I can tell he's doing almost as bad as the rest of us.

I'm still looking around the Pridelands, when I hear the small padding of feet come up the path. I begin to walk to the sound, but Nuka comes up right as I take three steps. "Nuka, what are you doing up here? You know you're not supposed come here, especially by yourself." Nuka flinches, making me feel regret when I hear the harshness in my words. I lower my head to his level, "I'm sorry, I'm just worried you'll get in trouble. What do you need?" He starts shuffling his paws, and if this wasn't the place, it'd be very cute. "Well, I just...wanted to ask you something...if that's okay?" I start feeling even worse, with him being so shy. Although, I think I'm a bit older than Simba at this point, so I guess I'm a bit intimidating.

I give him an encouraging smile, I hope, "Sure, whatever you want." I think I succeeded, when his face brightens. "Well, father says you're the prince, and if you're the prince...does that mean you're my brother?" This leaves me thinking about an answer, seeing as I don't want to put him down, but I don't want to lie. Maybe a half-truth will work. "You could say I'm your brother, but King Scar isn't my real father. He adopted me when I was a bit older than you, and I became prince. Do you understand?" He seems to think it over, and after a minute or two, he leaps up, with a giant grin. "So, you are my brother! This is awesome, we can play tag, hide-and-seek, or play fight! This is the best day ever!" Seeing him jump around with such joy fills me with gladness. At least I know I said the right things, but then I remember something.

"Oh, Nuka, have you seen Nala anywhere? I need to ask her something." Nuka stops jumping, and sits back down. "I think I saw her go to our den, but that was when I was coming up here." Unconsciously, I remember the song that was taken out of the original movie, and my heart jumps with fear. "Nuka, stay here, I have to take care of something." Before he can respond, I'm already running down the path to the rest of Pride Rock, hoping I'm not too late. I had just reached the entrance, when I hear Nala scream. I run inside, and I see Nala backed up against the back wall, and Scar cornering her, with an insane smile. "Nala, you will be my new queen, and we will have-" Before he can finish, I ram into him, getting him away from Nala. "Get away from her! You won't have her." Scar gets up, and his face is contorted with rage. "Athari, as your father, you will leave this instant, and apologize for your behavior!" I stand there, baring my teeth, and growling viciously. Scar's eyes narrow, "If that's the way you want it, it's the way you'll HAVE IT!"

Scar pounces onto me, trying to bite my throat, but luckily, my mane has grown thick and long, and I push him off. He's surprisingly strong, and very quick. I leap onto him, scratching him with my claws, but he bites my shoulder, with me crying out in pain. Scar slithers out from under my grasp, and I see his teeth come at my eyes. Before he can kill me, Nala pushes him, and turns to me. "Run!" We start running from Pride Rock, with Scar roaring behind us. "Kill them, you fools! Chase them down!" We had just reached the bottom, when I hear the hyenas barking behind us. "Nala, faster!" We run, as fast as we can, but it's not long before the hyenas are just a whisper on the wind. We keep going, I don't know for how long, until Nala finally stops, and I slow down next to her. "Athari...thank you...but now we're both banished." We're both panting, but I nuzzle her. "Hey...if I hadn't intervened...who knows what would've happened?"

We stay like that, but then I start to smell something. "Hey, do you smell that? It smells like…" Nala's head jerks back, with a smile, "Food!" We start running towards the smell, and I notice that we're surrounded by desert, and a thought enters my mind. If we smell food that must mean...When I look up, I see a gigantic jungle before me, and it's full of vegetation. Nala runs in ahead, and I hurry to catch up. However, I hear a scream, and it's definitely not Nala's. "SHE'S GONNA EAT ME!" Pumba? I rush towards them, when I hear another. "AAAAGGGGHHHH!" Timon!, then where's...I hear a roar, and I break through some bushes, where I see Nala and Simba, unbeknownst to them both, fighting like animals...I hate my brain. Pumba's stuck under a tree root, and Timon's on top, cheering Simba on.

Before things get out of hand, I roar, and I must say, total silence followed. Simba stands there, with his eyes narrowed, but they open with complete surprise. "Athari?" He looks at Nala, "Nala?" He looks between us a couple times, then shouts. "WOW!" Nala starts nodding her head. "WOW!" I remember the scene from the movie, and it looked kinda stupid with me staring at them jump around each other. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" I look at the ground, and I see Timon with a frown. Simba comes over, "Timon, these are my friends, Nala and Athari. I told you about them, remember?" Pumba wiggles out from under the root, "You're those guys? A pleasure to meet you." He does a little bow, with Nala giggling, and me nervous. "So, you're the one who saved little Simba, eh? Well, I guess I should thank you, but ehhh what're you doing out here?"

I turn to Timon, "There's no need for thanks, but as to why we're here...we left the Pridelands." Simba turns to Nala, with a shocked face, "What? Why would you leave, you had everything there." Nala lowers her head, but I see her face filled with sorrow. I take a step forward, "We came to find you, so you can become king." Both Simba and Nala look at me, "WHAT?" Timon twists a finger in his ear, "Oy, so much yelling. What's this about you being king?" Simba focuses on me, "You can't be serious, I can't be king. I've been away for so long, I wouldn't be accepted." Nala comes forward, plain worry on her face. "Wait, you're the prince, you're supposed to be king." Simba looks at me, "Wait, what?" I don't know how to respond, so I look at Pumba. He looks at me and Simba, "Who's the king?"

 **Hey guys, got the image, and I believe you'll love it. So, as I promised, we got a time jump and we got Simba! Looks like we don't know who'll be king, oh wait I do. If you don't know what song I'm referring to, it's** _ **The Madness of King Scar**_ **. Scar's getting greedy, he already has Zira, why's he need Nala? All I know is that Zira will be pissed. Timon and Pumba, I think we all needed them personally. Well, I'll get the next chapter up tomorrow, and I hope you enjoyed this one.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	18. Return of the Future King

I look back at Simba and Nala, and they're both staring at me. "Hold on, what is she talking about? You're the prince? How is that possible?" I try to find a response, but I can only make my mouth open. Nala, seeing my distress, takes a step forward, "After you...died...Scar proclaimed himself as king. He took Athari as his son, and he became prince. But, I still don't understand how you're alive." Simba turns to Nala, an eyebrow raised, "What do you mean "died"? Who told you that?" Nala shakes her head, "Scar told us that you died in the stampede with Mufasa, but if that's not true...oh no." I see her eyes widen in disbelief, and I quickly try to gain her attention so she won't freak out. "Hey, what's wrong? Take a breath." She must have figured it out, they didn't even do that in the original movie until Scar told Simba. Why do they have to be smarter here?

Nala raises her head, "If Scar lied to us, then he must have killed Mufasa to become king." I can tell she expects me to be surprised, so I feign shock. "What? I don't believe it. It can't be true." I suddenly hear nothing from behind me, and I turn back to Simba, his eyes full of shame. "He didn't kill my father...I did." Nala rushes over to Simba, "What? How could you kill your own father?" Simba raises his head, "I was practicing my roar in the canyon, and I caused the stampede. Father came to save me...but he died." I can see that he completely believes that, I have to make him see the light. "Simba, you didn't cause the stampede. A group of hyenas, conveniently the ones who tried to kill you, attacked the wildebeests and made them stampede. None of this is your fault."

That didn't come out the way I wanted it to, because I see both of their eyes narrow in suspicion. "How would you know that?" Nala starts getting closer, "How could you possibly know that?" I can tell this is getting bad, but for once, I thank Scar for coming in time. "Because...Scar told me when he adopted me. He said that if I told any of you, he'd kill you, and leave me to regret it." It must have pulled through, Nala's eyes are now the epitome of sympathy. "Athari, you've been struggling through this ever since you became prince?" She comes up and nuzzles me, and I don't know if she knew that, because she does it for some time. I hear a cough, and I look at Simba, who appears to be really nervous. "So, you guys are...together?" I remember how in the movie he loves Nala, so I think I just messed that relationship up. "Yeah, for about a year now. You okay? I know that you…" Simba quickly tries to push it off, "No, no, I'm happy for you guys, really. You look great together."

Nala pulls away, and looks at the both of us, "So, what are we going to do?" Before either of us can respond, I hear a slight "ahem". "Look lady, I can see you want us to help, but we're not heroes. Our motto has always been hakuna matata, no worries. We don't need to worry about your problems, you don't need to worry about ours." Timon seems to be the same as ever, but I can tell Pumba isn't the same. "Timon, it's our little guys old home, we have to help." Timon looks at Pumba, frustration written all over. "It's not his home anymore, he lives with us. Why would he want to go back?" Simba turns back to us, "He's right, I can't go back. I still caused my father's death, you wouldn't want me." With that statement, a clear picture of stormclouds enters my mind, and a face begins to appear out of it. When it finishes, with a crude face of a lion inside, I hear only three words, "He must remember." Back in reality, I see Nala about to protest, but I step up to Simba, only two steps apart. "Simba, Mufasa is still alive."

Simba's eyes widen, "Don't lie to me, I know he's dead. I was there, I saw his body myself." I try to sound as convincing as possible, "His body may be dead, but his spirit is not." I take a step closer to put my paw on his chest. "He lives in you, and you forget who he was and who you are by denying it. Remember, the Great Kings never truly died, they watch over us, and guide us, but their memory lives on in us. In a way, you are Mufasa, with all his kindness." I step back, allowing Simba to digest all this, and I'm relieved when I see his face grow into a slight smile. "You know, I could say that you're my father, you're just as wise. I understand now, they live on in our hearts. Jeez, Athari, you're only a little older, but you're so smart." I chuckle, "Well, I got it from you guys, you've all taught me so much. I guess being a prince for two years helps too." I look at Nala, and her eyes are full of love, with a gentle smile to top it off.

"Well, back to before, will you come help us Simba, and become King?" Simba's face goes back to a deep brooding, but he looks up, with a steely determination. "I'll help you, to save our kingdom, but as for becoming king...I think that, as prince, that's your responsibility." I try to reason with him, "I'm not a prince, Scar took your birthright, so you should be king." Simba holds up a paw, "Athari, I've stepped down from being prince, you're the only one who can be king. The real question is, are you willing to?" At that, it was my turn to start brooding. If Simba won't be king, I guess that really does leave me as the future king. I can't do that though, I have to keep some of the story together. If I become king, what'll happen to Zira and the Outsiders? Would I have to banish them too, or- Before I can finish that thought, I see another storm, but this time, I see the clear face of Mufasa inside, with his powerful gaze.

"Athari, this is not the story that should have happened, but it is yours. When you came, the story changed, and there is no going back. All that you can do, is decide what to do with it, so that when the time comes, your story may be for the better." Before I can respond, the storm recedes, and I'm back in the world of the living. I look back at the others, "Alright, I'll be king, but I want you, Timon, and Pumba to promise me one thing." I see Timon step forward, with a nervous look. "That would be?" I look at him, "I want you all to promise me, that you'll stay at Pride Rock when we go back. Plus, who will I invite to be my groomsmen when me and Nala get married?" Timon's features spark up, "Groomsmen? You mean the guys next to the groom, who get a bigger share of the food?" I smile, "Sure, why not? Since Simba's my best man, you kind've got to be there." Before I even notice, I feel something slam into me, and when I look up, I see an extremely happy Nala. "We're getting married? Oh, Athari, you've no idea how happy I am." I don't even know why, but just the thought of getting married brings a grin to my face.

When I finally get up, I notice Simba, with a nervous grin on his face. "You want me as your best man? I don't know what to say." I walk up to him, with my paw on his shoulder. "Don't say anything, after all, I think you'd do just fine." With that, I turn around, and I look back at the others. "Well, I think it's high time we go back, to rescue our kingdom." We make our way out of the jungle, and we walk across the desert. They make it seem so short in the movie, but we have to stop to sleep for one night, and by the time we reached the Pride Lands, it was already night again. I guess that because Simba just kept running, he covered more ground faster. We reach the cliff Simba got to in the movie, and I already hear Timon complaining. "This is what we're fighting for? Talk about a dump." I look back at him, "You should have seen it two years ago, it was beautiful." Simba steps to the edge, despair written all over his face. "I can't believe my uncle would let this happen." I sit down next to him, "That's why we're here, to fix all this, before everything is gone." We look out over the Pride Lands, and I know that its king has returned.

 **Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. I know I said I was gonna upload Tuesday, but unfortunate "circumstances" came up and I didn't get a chance to write until today. Well, a marriage is coming up, and I know that royal births were celebrated, so I figured royal marriages should be too. I used the traditional bridesmaids and groomsmen thing since I thought it'd be nice to give you an image of Simba, Timon, Pumba, and Athari wearing bow ties. The overthrowing of Scar is up next, and you all know who the king will be...or do you? Just kidding, it's Athari, and Nala is the queen. Non-political uprising, yay!**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	19. Be Prepared For Hula Dancing

We're still gazing out into the Pridelands, when I can practically feel Timon standing next to me. "Timon, is there something wrong?" I look down at him, and his eyes are narrowed, maybe with nervousness? "Well, we never really talked about a plan to all this, so I was hoping you'd fill us in?" Nala walks up next to me, "Yes, you never did say what we're going to do. What do you have in mind?" I know the plan in the original movie worked, so I'm not sure what else could, but with five of us, this could get complicated. "First, let's get closer to Pride Rock, we can assess the situation." We started making our way down, with a muttering Timon behind us. "That's what I thought, improvise." We were getting closer to Pride Rock, when I spotted the log they hid behind in the movie. I motioned to get down, and we creeped closer, with the dozens of hyenas in front of us.

"Hyenas, I hate hyenas. So, what's the plan to get past those guys?" I look at Timon, "We need bait, live bait." Timon nods, but he starts to realize his role. "You mean you want to use us? What do you want us to do, dress in drag and do the hula?" At least something didn't change. I look at Timon, with a smirk. "Yes, that's a perfect idea. I think you'll need an apple for Pumba, and some flowers for you. You know, for the hula." Timon looks astonished, but he rolls his eyes and starts taking Pumba with him. "Come on Pumba, let's get ready." I take a glimpse at Nala, and she's covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. "I can't believe you got them to do that, how'd you think of it?" I take a look at where they went, then I look back at her. "Oh, I saw it one time. It was hilarious." A few minutes later, I hear the clopping of Pumba's hooves, and when I looked at the two of them, I almost gave our position away.

Pumba had some leaves on his back, and he had an apple in his mouth. Timon had the grass skirt in one hand, and he had the flower necklace and circlet in the other. 'So, where do you want us to do this?" I looked around, and I spotted the the rock they did their job, and luckily the sun was coming up, with some light shining on it. "Okay, Pumba will lie down there, with the apple in his mouth and those leaves under him. You, Timon, will have a little song about the hyenas eating Pumba, and you'll dance the hula while singing. Sound good?" Timon's is obviously unhappy, but he starts putting his costume on. "There better be a lot of grubs at the marriage." The two of them start heading to the "stage", while I look at Nala. "Okay, when Timon starts singing, we'll need to sneak past those hyenas, and when we do, you'll gather up the lionesses to confront Scar with me and Simba." I feel a paw touch my shoulder, and I turn to Simba, who has a nervous look. "When we do confront my uncle, what'll we do?"

I hadn't really thought of what to say, but I'll have to improvise. "Simba, when we do, we'll start off with how you survived the stampede, then we'll reveal Scar's plan, and after that, how I've come back to be king." Simba nods, and he looks at Pride Rock, I guess thinking about his uncle. We wait, until I see Timon and Pumba creep up to the rock, getting everything in place. Timon turns around, and I know he's about to start. "Okay, let's go." While we're getting past the hyenas, Timon's song keeps making me snicker, especially his outfit. Seeing this in person is so much better than through a screen. When we finally get out of the hyenas sight, I hear Timon and Pumba's screams start heading away from us, and I know the plan worked. We got to the overlook in the movie, and I turn to Nala. "Okay, gather the lionesses, confront Scar, we can do this." Nala nods, and she heads to the caves, where I guess the lionesses are. I turn to Simba, who nods, and we start making our way to Scar. "SARABI!" I look up to see Scar, on the summit of Pride Rock. I look at the bottom, and Sarabi is making her way through the hyenas, who bark at her when she passes.

I try to see where Simba came down from, when I feel his paw nudge me. "Hey look, we can go up there." I look where his paw is pointing, and I'm glad Simba spotted the rock terrace in time. We start making our way to the top, just in time to see Scar smack Sarabi. Simba springs ahead, with me behind. Scar's face is filled with fear, and he backs away, with Simba going to Sarabi. I walk towards Scar, when I see a small lion cub, with dark brown fur, trying to pad up to Scar's leg. "Scar, who is that?" Scar's face grows into a devious smile, "Oh, this is Kovu. Zira gave birth to him after you left, and although he isn't my son, he will be the one to become king." Before I can respond, Kovu starts making his way to me, with the adorable face of a baby. Scar steps on his tail, stopping him from walking, and drags him back to him. "I'm afraid, Athari, you've been replaced. You've also been banished, to which I ask, leave the Pride Lands, and never return."

I hear footsteps, and when I turn around, Nala and the lionesses, with Timon and Pumba, are gathered behind us, teeth bared. "Scar, I think you should leave, for your crimes are unforgivable." Scar starts laughing, an insane laughter that echoes around us. "What crimes have I committed, except for none?" I get closer to Scar, whose face isn't smiling anymore. "To quote you Scar, run away Simba, run, run away and never return. Isn't that what you said Scar, when you forced Simba to leave the Pride Lands, telling us he was dead, and stole his kingship? If you ask me, that definitely counts as a crime." Scar snarls, "It doesn't matter anyway, and if you would, look up." He points to the rocks above him, where a big group of hyenas are smiling down at me. "If you try to dethrone me, they will kill you, and all the others." I know he's trying to play me, but he didn't count for my trump card. "Do they know you lied to them? You did say that they'd never grow hungry again, but here they are, starving, with no food for miles." I look at the hyenas, looking around at each other nodding, and then looking at Scar with murderous intent.

Scar looks at me, eyes narrowed, "So what if I did, they got their food, there's no more. If the herds hadn't moved on, they wouldn't go hungry." I get in his face, "Whose fault is that? You had the lionesses over hunt, it's because of you. I guess you could say you're the reason that they can't feed their young." I hear the hyenas start chomping on their teeth, and Scar's eyes fill with fear. "No, that's not right, it's the lionesses-" I smack Scar away, leaning down into his face. "Scar, if I were you, I'd start running. By the way, thank you for teaching me how to be king." Scar's eyes narrow, and when he finally gets up, he starts running, before being blocked by Simba. "You know, uncle, I never got to repay you, for killing my FATHER!" Simba pounces on Scar, trying to hold him down, but Scar flips him over, putting his paws on Simba's throat. "Well, Simba, I'm happy to return the favor, but it seems daddy is too late to save you this time." Scar seems to realize he's surrounded, when I leap onto him, forcing him to the ground. "I think you've done enough Scar. You never were half the king Mufasa was." Before Scar can react, I've already slashed his throat, leaving him there.

I look back at the hyenas, "Hey, if you want, you can have him. He's not worth the effort." Some hyenas jump down, dragging Scar's body away, with Shenzi coming down too. "Well, I never thought you'd pull this on him. So, your highness, what about us? Are we going back to the graveyard?" I stare at Shenzi, trying to see what to do, when I see Ed, coming down next to Shenzi, cuddling next to her. "You know, you can stay here, in the Pridelands, just as you did with Ahadi. Become members of the Pride Lands again, but follow the laws." Shenzi stops to think it over, when she holds a paw out. "It doesn't sound so bad, but as long as we don't get harassed, we'll be fine." I shake her paw, with the hyenas cheering, and the lionesses cheering behind me. When we finish, I feel some drops of water hit my shoulder, and when I look up, it starts pouring, with everyone cheering more. I smile, but I feel something touch my leg, and when I look down, I see the smiling face of Kovu, a little bundle of joy.

 **Okay, whoo!, Scar ain't king, and everyone's happy. I had thought of going a darker way with this, but I can't end this dark, there has to be a smiling baby. I wanted to keep some things close to the movie, but Scar's death was a bit "not me", but I didn't want him dying in a fire, or something. Well, Athari's king, Nala's queen, and Timon and Pumba are hula guys. What about Simba, though? What to do with him...he'll find someone else, they always do. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because the next one is the final chapter.**

 **Remember to follow and review, I'll see you next chapter.**


	20. All is Forgiven

I'm standing in front of the waterhole, moving my head to see if nothing's messed up. Today was the day, after all. Today, I'm marrying Nala, and I'm becoming king. Well, technically I'm already king, but having a queen makes it a bit more official. After checking everything, I look up into the sky, and I'm glad to see it's blue. A couple months had passed, with all the herds moving back into the Pride Lands. The land had finally healed, with all the grass and vegetation growing from the rains. The hyenas had come back, too, and they're following the rules, not without the one hyena complaining over nothing. I turn around, only to see the end of a staff centimeters away from my nose. "Where do you think you are going?" I look past the staff, and I see the wise, old mandrill Rafiki, with a stern glare.

"Uh...to the wedding." I attempt to get past him, but he stops me with an outstretched hand. "No, the wedding isn't ready, it's at the end of the day. Now, come with me." Rafiki starts hobbling away, with a flabbergasted me behind. "What do you mean, it's at the end of the day? I thought it was at noon." He turns around and gets in my face, breaking into laughter a few seconds later. "Have you forgotten? Every marriage is in the evening, when the sun lowers, signifying the two lovers original lives are over, and when it rises the next day, their new lives as king and queen have begun. Has Sarabi not taught you this, or did she never mention it at all?" I think back to the days when I was still learning how to be king, and I don't remember anything along those lines. "No, I don't believe she did. Why, was she supposed to?"

Rafiki starts to laugh again, and I can't help but feel like I missed a joke at my expense. "Oh, that Sarabi, she wanted to get you all nervous, making you clean up hours before you need to. One reason why I knew she'd make a good mate for Mufasa." Rafiki smiles, probably remembering the old days, but past his smile I see a small shard of sadness. "Well, let us get going. The groom shouldn't miss his bachelor party." I don't know what he's talking about, but he continues on until we reach a small outcropping of rocks, where I see Simba, Timon, and Pumba laying down. "Hey there, your royal mightiness, where've you been? We've been waiting for you." I lay down next to Timon, "I didn't know there was a party, not to mention the wedding was in the evening." Timon puts on a devious smirk, "Yeah, we all knew it was, but we wanted to see your face. Right now, it's priceless." I roll my eyes, and I look at Pumba. "So, how have you both been, adjusting to the Pride Lands and all?"

Pumba gleefully responds, "It's been great, plenty of grubs, lots of people, it was just me and Timon for a while before we met little Simba. Ah, it feels just like yesterday we found him and brought him in." Pumba stares off into space for a few moments, but he quickly comes back to reality. "Simba, what's it like, coming back to Pride Rock? Reuniting with everyone?" Simba shuffles around, trying to get comfortable. "Well, it's been nice, for the most part, but it just doesn't feel the same without my father. I remember one time, when I was a cub, he took me to the top of Pride Rock, and he said, "Everything the light touches is our kingdom. A king's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, Simba, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the new king." I never thought the sun would set so fast, but here we are, and the sun's rising with you, Athari."

I sit there for a moment, going over everything that's happened over the last two years. I know that things have changed, but I still wonder if I could have saved Mufasa, maybe get rid of Scar early on, but that's in the past, I have to focus on the future. It's at that moment that I see everyone staring at me, "What?" Timon sits up, "You were staring at nothing for a minute there, are you okay?" I sit up too, "Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about everything that's happened. It's been a long way, hasn't it?" Rafiki gets a bit closer, "It has, but after everything, you are all the better for it. When you first came to my home, you were a wounded cub with no family, but look at you now. Only two years, and you're now the king of the pride, and being married not long after. Most lions would kill for your position, but you earned every last scrap of it, and you're much stronger than before."

He's right, I know he is, but there's still things I regret, like never telling everyone I knew what was happening, going to happen, or what could have happened. It's like I'm leading them along a string I made, and I keep them to it tightly, not letting go. I look up, and the sun has nearly set, just hitting the horizon. Rafiki looks up too, "It's almost time, quickly let's go, before it's too late." We all start making our way to Pride Rock, fast walking the whole way there. We finally reach it, all the herds making way for us, when Sarabi leaps down to us. "You just made it, the other lionesses and I finished getting Nala ready a moment ago." We walk up Pride Rock, and when we get to main den, my heart started fluttering immensely. Nala was walking out, and she had a hypericum in her ear, the sunlight catching her fur on fire. She was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and she was walking straight towards me.

Nala came up next to me, a slight blush on her face, "Why are you staring at me like that?" I realize my mouth is open, "You're just...so beautiful. I didn't know I could feel this way." She looks up, "What way?" I get a bit closer, "Absolutely in love." Nala's blush deepens, but before she says anything Rafiki gets between us. "Save it for later, we have a wedding to commence." Rafiki beckons us all forward to the tip of the peak, with the guys on my left side, and some lionesses on Nala's. "Today, we are bringing these two together in love, happiness, and goodwill. They have sworn to each other, but now we finalize that pact, uniting them. Athari, please step forward." I take a few steps next to Rafiki. "Athari, would you take Nala as your mate, and as your queen?" I smile, "Yes." Rafiki turns to Nala, "Nala, please step forward." Nala comes forward, only a foot away from me. "Nala, do you take Athari as your mate, and as your king?" She turns to me, a giant smile on her face, "Yes." Rafiki brings his hands up, "Then by the grace and wisdom of the Great Kings, you are now king and queen. May your reign last long and peacefully." I took that as my cue, and I brought my lips to Nala's. All the animals below started cheering, a loud cry that made me feel like I did the right thing. I couldn't have done anything differently, but I know I wouldn't change what I've done.

After I parted from Nala, Rafiki motioned me towards the peak. "Now, as the new king, it's required that you say a speech. Don't try to embellish it, just say what you feel is best." I step up to the edge of the peak, looking down at all the animals below me, all of them looking at me expectantly. I take a breath, "Thank you all for coming, I'm glad you could make it here today. I know that the last two years have been rough, but look around you, life has come back to us, and as your king, I promise to not let things fall out of hand again." The animals cheered again, giving me some confidence. "Now, as I know some of you are, I know some of you are nervous about the hyenas coming back to the Pride Lands, but don't be, as they have promised to follow the rules, so I don't want to hear about misconduct towards them. As you show me respect, I expect you to show the same to them. Now, let a time of peace begin!" The cheering started up again, louder than before, and I felt a hand on my shoulder, "A fine speech, sire, a fine speech."

I turn towards Rafiki, "Thank you, for everything." Rafiki laughed, "Thank me, whatever for? I didn't do anything, except maybe saving your life." I roll my eyes, "And I thank you for that, but you've done more than you know, advising me on the way here. You know, I think you've payed off that whack you gave me as a cub." Rafiki shrugs his shoulders, and I make my way over to Nala, who's talking to her friends. "So, how's it feel, being queen I mean?" Nala shakes her head, "I don't really feel different, but I know I have new duties to fulfill. It shouldn't be too hard, I welcome a challenge." I smile, "Well, I know you'll pass with flying colors, you've always been the best at everything." She smirks, "I know, especially with you there for me." Nala's friends aw in that girly way, making her shush them, all of them giggling. "You know I'd never leave you, I love you too much for that." The awwing gets louder, forcing me to giggle too. Nala shakes her head again, "Just this once, I need you to leave me, before someone comes to check on us." I giggle some more, "Okay, okay, I'll leave you to it."

I make my way up to the summit of Pride Rock, where I'm surprised to find a small cub sitting at the edge. Once I get a bit closer, I see that it's Nuka, his head down. "Nuka, is that you?" He turns around, fear plain on his face. "Don't get closer, I'll-I'll...I don't know what I'll do." His fear is replaced by sadness, practically breaking my heart to see him like that. "Nuka, what's wrong? It's like your whole world has shattered." I sit down next to him, his eyes towards the ground. "It's nothing, I...just miss father." That one sentence makes me realize how he must have felt, having no dad for the rest of his life. "You know, I lost my family at your age." Nuka looks up at me, "Really?" I nod, "Yes, I was separated from my pride when I was your age, and I wandered around for days, until I met someone who changed my life." Nuka's face became nothing but curiosity. "Who was it?" I know I'm telling him the story I fabricated when I was a cub, but it's not entirely wrong. "It was the king before me and Scar. It was your uncle, Mufasa. When I met him, he welcomed me into the pride with kindness and generosity. You would have liked him."

Nuka thinks for a bit, before looking back at me, "Why haven't I met him?" I don't want to tell him his father killed his own brother, so I'll keep it as nice as possible. "Well you see, Simba, Mufasa's son, went into the gorge one day, and he got caught in a wildebeest stampede. Mufasa was warned by Scar, and he rescued Simba, but at the cost of his own life. However, if he had lived, you might not have been born. His life was exchanged for Simba's and yours." Nuka takes a moment to digest this, and quicker than I thought, he looked at me with a smile on his face. "So, Simba's my cousin?" In a way, I'm glad he's a cub, he only sees the bright side. "Yes, and would you know it, he's right there." I point over the edge at Simba, and Nuka's face brightens even more. "Yay, I have a cousin!" I watch as he runs down the path, and he runs right up to Simba, saying words I don't hear.

I sit there for a bit, until I hear the footfall of someone coming up. When I turn around, I see Zira, a frown on her face. "Well, if it isn't His Royal Highness, taking a break from his subjects. It must be nice, stealing what's not yours." I know exactly what she's talking about, and it's not exactly bringing happy thoughts. "Zira, I know you loved him, but you saw what happened under his rule, everyone was starving, the Pride Lands were dying. If you acknowledge this at all, you'll know I did what had to be done." She bares her teeth, "Yet you killed him, I saw it myself. If you were like him at all, you would have spared his life. He was your father, after all." I get up, feeling a rage taking me over. "If I was like him, I would've done far worse. He was a cruel being, going so far as to kill his own brother. If I hadn't stopped him, he would have killed his own nephew as well. And for the record, he wasn;t my father. He was never my father, he only ever kept me around to fulfill his own purposes. If I ever showed a sign of mercy, he would've killed me and taken someone else to torture. I did what was right."

Zira gets in my face, her eyes bloodshot. "If you did what was right, how can you explain to his son that you killed him? How can you explain that your claws are what ended his life? If you can't even tell my son that you killed his father, what kind of father could you be?" I sat there, every feeling inside of me boiling with anger. If I lost an ounce of control, I'd regret something later. With everything I had, I did the only thing I could do. "Get out." Zira's eyebrows raised, "What?" I take a step forward, forcing her to back up. "I said, get out. Get out of Pride Rock, get out of my sight, get out of my hearing, I can't stand you. If that's something you can't understand, here's something you will." I gather my strength, and I roar, the loudest one I've ever managed. When I finish, it's still echoing around the land, enough where I don't hear anything after it ends. Zira's face is full of surprise, and it stays that way for a good while. It's not until I look to see Nala, Sarabi, and everyone else practically gathered around us that I notice my teeth are still bared.

When I finally manage to calm down, I turn to Zazu. "Zazu, I want a new law to be decreed." Zazu flies over next to me, "Yes, your majesty, what shall it be?" I turn to Zira "Zira, as king, you are banished from the Pride Lands. You may not take anything or anyone with you, as they have not committed a crime. You will not cross our borders, but you can stay a reasonable distance close to them. If you are caught trespassing, you will be kept in a cave here, with no food, for one day. If the act continues, the penalty will be increased by one day. During that time, you will be allowed to drink at the waterhole, but you will be under guard. If you try to escape, the penalty will be increased by two days and your guard shall increase. If you commit any other crimes, such as murder, the punishment will be death." I look at Zazu, "Do you remember all this?" Zazu seems to go over everything in his head before looking back to me. "Yes, sire, I remember." I nod my head, and I turn to everyone. "Zira will leave tonight, but until then, I want her up here, with a guard of two of you watching her. Is there any volunteers?"

It takes a bit, but two lionesses I don't know step forward. "First, tell me your names." The one on the left stands up straight, "Shafira, your majesty." I turn to the one on the right, "What is yours?" She step forward, a bit slowly, "It's Aija...your majesty." I start making my way down the path, "I want you make sure she stays here, and don't let anyone come up until tonight, understood?" They both nod, and I go down to the main den. I reach the little platform that Mufasa and Scar slept on, and with a little reluctance, I lay down. I stay there, not doing anything, and it's some time until I hear a slight padding coming my way. When I turn towards it, I see Nala in front of me, her eyebrows slightly down. "I know you have your reasons to do what you did, but can you tell Zira's children that their mother has to leave because you didn't like her?" I get into a sitting position, "She accused me of stealing Scar's kingship, when he stole it from Simba and Mufasa. How can I let something like that go? If I let her off for it, everyone will think I'm not even strong enough to let an insult pass." Nala sits down next to me, looking down, until she raises her head.

"I don't know where you got that assumption, but no one will think that of you. Everyone knows what you did to get here, they won't fault you for letting something as small as an insult go. If you banish her, the herds might think that a new Scar has become king." I look down, knowing she's right. If I tell someone to go away because they said something rude, I'm no better than Scar. I get up, looking down at her. "You're right, I can't become Scar, but I can be better than him." I leave the den, heading up to the summit. I meet the two guards I set there, "You're relieved of your posts. Head down to the others." After looking at each other, they head down, leaving me and Zira. I step over next to her, sitting down. "Zira, forgive me for what I said earlier, I acted out of anger. I apologize, and...you're right. How can I tell Nuka I killed his father, without telling him as honestly as possible?" I look down for a while, only the night winds giving me comfort, when I feel a paw on mine. "You can start by telling him his mother forgives you." I look at her, and her face shows something I didn't expect...sadness.

"I've thought over what you said, and you're right. Scar did cause everything that happened, and I was a fool for thinking otherwise. Athari, you're not half of the king Scar was, you're ten times the king he was. I know I showed contempt towards you before, but I hope we can start anew, as subject and king." I'm honestly surprised, I never thought Zira would be apologizing to me. I figured she wouldn't want to hear anything I said, but this? I look her in the eyes, "No, not as subject and king, but as friends." She smiles, and I'm glad to see it. "Come, I don't think dinner has been served yet." When we reach the bottom, the others all look to us. "Zazu, erase the law I made earlier. Zira is not banished." The others cheer, although Zazu looked like he was having trouble forgetting earlier. I sat next to Nala, but before I could start the prayer, "So, when's a little you gonna be running around?" I look at Pumba, and back to Nala, and we both have huge blushes on our faces. "Well….I'm not answering that for a while." We all laugh, and I look up, where I see a shooting star streak across the night sky.

 **Well guys, it's been one heck of a ride. I never thought this story would be so loved as it is, but all of you have showed joy with every review, waiting for the next chapter to come. I wanted the last to be the longest, and I did quite a job at it. To be honest, the only reason I kept going was because of all of you. Your responses are what pushed me to write every word, every paragraph, and it's gone all the way to here. I hope you all enjoyed this story, 'cause I enjoyed writing it for you.**

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